Insert Disk Two
by KievaLynn
Summary: Sequel to "Courage to Change the Things You Can' and 'Stranger Highways: Redux.' In the wake of Meteor's summoning, Aeris and Christian return to Gaia. But events in their absence have not quite followed the expected course. Can they pull the team back together in time to save the world? Epilogue: "Until We Meet Again."
1. A Surprise Guest

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

Author's Note One: This story takes place after the events of 'Courage to Change the Things You Can' and 'Stranger Highways: Redux.' You might want to read those first in order to follow what's going on here.

Author's Note Two: For the purposes of this story, I've re-named 'Ultimate Weapon' as 'Obsidian Weapon.' It just makes more sense to me to follow the theme naming of the others, and besides that why would the people of Gaia give the name 'Ultimate' to one of the weakest ones?

OOOOOOO

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter One: "A Surprise Guest"

After the events I have previously related in 'Stranger Highways' Aeris and I lived together in my home for about six weeks. During this time, she helped me with recovering my memories and we filled each other in on the details we were not aware of; Aeris what she knew from her time in the hospital, and I what I knew from the second half of the game.

In time, I started getting worried about how long we were waiting. Minerva's instructions to Aeris had been clear. We were not to return to Gaia until we received some kind of sign, something which would be "Unmistakable." Nevertheless, I still worried. After all, around five months had passed on Gaia between Aeris' injury at Knowlespole and her journey to my world, and while I was fully aware that the timeframe was longer in reality than in the game (It had, after all, taken more than a year to travel from Midgar to Knowlespole), this particular delay was seeming horribly long. Especially knowing that Meteor had been summoned.

I wished fervently for someone to discuss these concerns with, but neither Minerva, nor Ganthet, nor anyone from Ganthet's Tempus Council put in a single appearance during those weeks. More worrisome to me; the fragment of Masamune, shaved off the end of that blade when Aeris closed the Gate of Worlds in Sephiroth's face, had vanished. I knew exactly where I had left it, of course, but a week into our wait it simply disappeared overnight. I should have been relieved, I guess. I wanted the thing gone and now it was. But the mystery was unsettling…

OOOOOOO

And so it came to pass that we awoke early one morning, six weeks after our reunion. We ate breakfast, and discussed our plans for the day. "I'd like to get started on the back lawn." Aeris said, looking out the windows. When she arrived weeks earlier, Aeris had expressed upset that the yard around my home was devoid of any kind of flowers or shrubs or landscaping, but it had been winter then and there was nothing to do. "Spring's coming soon, I can feel it." She added.

"It's still awfully cold though… The ground's got to still be frozen." I replied.

"Yeah. No reason to not make some plans though."

"You wanna go check out the local greenhouses?" I asked. "Maybe get an idea of what you'll have to work with?"

"That sounds like fun. Let's go!"

We finished our meal and made ready to go out for the day, unaware that those plans were about to be put on indefinite hiatus. After we were suitably dressed we returned to the first floor. We were about to leave via the front door when a loud yelp and a clattering sound arose from the direction of the kitchen. "Stay back." I whispered. "I'll check this out."

Creeping as quietly as I could manage down the hallway, stepping just so to avoid squeaky floorboards, I moved towards the source of the noise, which had now gone silent. Just outside the kitchen door I paused. Light from the window streamed through the kitchen and out the door onto the floor and opposite wall, and clearly visible in that light was the shadow of someone moving. A small someone I guessed, but still a possible threat.

I glanced around for a makeshift weapon, greatly missing the Katana I had used on Gaia, and settled for an umbrella hanging from a closet door. Shaking my head at the absurdity of such a pathetic weapon, I tensed, waited half a second more, then sprang into the kitchen ready to do battle with…

"Yuffie!?" I exclaimed in shock.

I would have said more, would have asked how in the hell she had gotten here, but before I could say anything further the ninja was leaping into my arms and babbling a mile a minute. "Christian! You're alive! You're alive? But how… Where am I anyway? What's going on here? How are you alive? We all saw you vanish! What the hell?..."

I would write out everything Yuffie said, but let's just say it would make this first chapter alone longer than I intend for the entire story to be. Suffice to say that once she started talking she couldn't stop, exclaiming and questioning, repeating herself over and over, trying to talk about how sorry she was about Aeris, on and on she went, somehow not needing to stop for a breath for close to ten minutes.

As Yuffie continued on and on, Aeris stepped into the door and waited quietly for her to calm down. In time, Yuffie must have registered Aer's presence subconsciously, because she slowed way down in her speech and eventually stopped entirely. Facing Aeris, jaw dropped open, giant shuriken dropped to the floor with a resounding clang, the little ninja was as quiet as I'd ever seen her for a full minute. Then she sprang forward as if shot out of a cannon, making a loud squealing sound like "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" as she went, bowling Aeris over backwards.

"You're alive!? You're alive too!? Will somebody please tell me what the hell is going on here already!?"

Helping Aeris back to her feet, I motioned to the kitchen table. "Have a seat Yuff. We've got a lot to tell each other…"

OOOOOOO

Shortly thereafter, we were all seated around the small table, Aeris by my side and Yuffie across from us. "So what's the deal?" She asked.

I held up a hand. "Yuff, listen… You've got a lot of questions. And you deserve the answers, and I intend to give them to you. But, the rest of Avalanche deserves those answers too, and it's a really long story that I don't wanna have to tell over and over."

"You wanna wait for everyone to be together?" Yuffie asked. "Guess I can get that. But I don't think you're gonna get the chance now."

"How do you mean?" Aeris asked.

"I mean Avalanche is gone! History! All broken up, that's what!"

Looking at me in shock, Aeris said "I didn't think anything like that was supposed to happen."

"It's not." I answered. Looking at Yuffie, I said "Can you do me a favor Yuff? What has happened since you left Knowlespole? I need the details."

Nodding, Yuffie began to fill us in. The first part of her story fit with what I expected. They had journeyed north to Icicle Inn, and from there across the Great Glacier and up Gaia Cliffs. In the crater, a third Jenova monster had attacked and been beaten, but then Shinra arrived and Cloud handed the Black Materia to Sephiroth.

"After that," Yuffie continued, "All hell broke loose. The planet's weapons woke up and went crazy. We got out on Shinra's airship, but then Rufus tried to arrest us all. Barrett and Tifa were captured. Cloud, I dunno, no one's seen him."

"This is tracking so far." I said. "Please, keep going."

"Well, A while later, I lost track of exactly how long, those of us who got away found each other. Cid and Vincent hatched a plan to rescue Barrett and Teef by hijacking the airship. It was right about then that Meteor appeared in the sky."

"So this was several weeks ago then? I asked.

Aeris asked "What about Meteor? Have you heard anything about how long until it hits?"

"Weeks ago." Yuffie confirmed. "As for Meteor… Remember, I'm no science-brain. But Red said something about it being in some kind of funny orbit that would take several months to reach the planet."

"Retrograde orbit, spiraling inward probably." I mused. Yuffie stared at me until I said "I'm not exactly a science-brain either, but I know a little… Okay, so what happened after you hijacked the airship?"

"Well, we broke Barrett and Teef out like we planned. Wasn't easy. Then, once we were clear there was a big meeting, trying to decide what to do. Everyone wanted Tifa to take charge but she wouldn't do it. Refused and walked away. I don't even know where she is now."

"Of course…" I whispered. "It makes sense now."

"What? What makes sense?"

"Yuff, Aer and I need a moment, please wait here." I said.

In the hall, Aeris asked "What is it? What have you realized?"

"Butterfly effect. It had to happen sooner or later, with me in the middle of things… This is my fault."

"What is? I'm not following you."

I sighed. "Remember, the game represents the unaltered timeline… In the game, Tifa accepts when she's offered command. But she almost doesn't. See, she was dealing with two deaths; yours which was real in that timeline, and Cloud's which wasn't real but she didn't know that yet so it still counted. The deaths, real or not, of two close friends was _almost_ too much for her to take. She pulls herself together, but not before going, like, ninety-nine percent of the way to falling off the edge of the despair cliff. And if two deaths came that close to ruining her…"

"…Then what must three apparent deaths, mine, Cloud's, and yours, have done to her." Aeris finished, understanding now where I was going with my thinking. "Of course this time none of us are really dead, but that doesn't matter does it? She thinks we're all gone. Okay, so what do we do?"

"Right or wrong, I'm taking Yuffie's arrival as the sign we were waiting for. C'mon, let's see what else she can tell us."

"Yeah, with luck there's still time to pull it all back together."

Returning to Yuffie, I asked "What happened after Tifa left? How long has it been?"

"And how exactly did you find yourself here?" Aeris added.

"We tried to keep Avalanche together." Yuffie explained. "Vincent took command for awhile. We actually managed to do one good thing, we overheard Shinra messages about a Huge Materia at Corel and captured it. Saved the town too! But after that, there was no clear leadership, no real plans. We broke up two days ago. Cid's using the Highwind to take everyone home, though I had him leave me where I first met you guys. And that's how I got here. I found this weird blue thing, like a magical door or something, just floating out in the wilderness. I was trying to figure out how to safely look inside when it rushed at me and pulled me in. Next thing I knew, here I was."

"Minerva's work." I thought to myself. I said "Okay Yuffie, one more question. I warn you, this one's gonna sound kind of strange, and you might not know the answer, but it's vitally important if you do: The black Weapon… What is it doing? Has it attacked Mideel yet?"

Yuffie favored me with a strange look, but said "Obsidian? No, it's not attacked anything. It's just sat in one spot, southeast of Junon, for weeks now. What's this about Mideel?"

Aeris said "That's a part of what Christian wants to explain all at once. But, Yuffie, Cloud is alive." –the ninja's eyes widened at this- "He's in Mideel, but he's not well. Catatonic. We've got to get Tifa to him, and fast."

"Alright then, let's go!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Only, you still didn't tell me where we are. How can we get there from here?"

"Aeris can handle that." I answered, thinking of the Transit Materia Minerva had given her. "Give us a half hour to get ready, then we're getting Avalanche back together, and stopping Sephiroth." Yuffie cheered.

OOOOOOO

Slightly less than thirty minutes later, we were ready. I had dressed in heavy denim cargo pants, a thin cotton t-shirt, and a denim jacket with heavy combat boots from a surplus store. All of my pockets and a large satchel were filled with supplies, but my efforts to obtain a katana had been fruitless. I supposed it was best to obtain a new one in Gaia anyway, for the Materia slots.

Aeris had dressed in a style similar to her traditional outfit from the game, but a little better suited for fighting. Her dress was several inches shorter for better mobility, and was tied off at the waist with a belt-sash. She had replaced her old bracelets with armlets that covered and protected the entire lower half of each arm, and like myself she wore new boots that rose higher on her legs than her old pair.

Unlike myself, Aeris already had a viable weapon; the gift Minerva had given her before she came to my world. Called the 'Heart of Gaia' it was a six-foot staff imbued with great magical power. Among other things, the staff could somehow channel the power of the White Materia, creating Holy-like spells that could be used in combat. It could also retract into a harmless-seeming foot-long rod for portability and stealth.

Prepared, I stepped towards the bedroom door but Aeris stopped me. "You're blaming yourself, aren't you? For Tifa's reaction."

"How can I not?"

"You said it yourself… Butterfly Effect… Things had to start changing sooner or later."

"Maybe. Kind of makes my knowledge useless though."

"We'll see. Now let's go, Yuffie's waiting and there's no telling how much or little time we have left."

"Right." I opened the door and we quickly rushed back to the kitchen.

"Ready Yuff?" Aeris asked. She held her staff in the spell-casting position and activated the Transit Materia. A greenish glow swirled through the room, accompanied by a rush of air, and then a swirling, glowing blue portal opened up before us.

"Hey!" Yuffie exclaimed. "That looks just like the thing I came through to get here!"

"It surely does." I answered, then placed a hand firmly on her back and shoved her through. Aeris giggled slightly as she followed, and I went last…


	2. Minerva's Gift

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Two: "Minerva's Gift"

OOOOOOO

Gaia. We emerged from the far end of the portal Aeris had opened into a wide-open field of grasses and wildflowers. A warm breeze blew the grass back and forth. Ignoring Yuffie's whining over having been shoved through the portal, I tilted my head back and gazed up at the cloudless sky. The sun was low, it seemed to be early morning here as well, but what drew my attention was what didn't belong; the dark crimson-swathed form of Meteor.

"Freaky, isn't it?" Yuffie asked.

"I'd say 'freaky' doesn't begin to describe that thing." I agreed.

Looking to Aeris, Yuffie said "So, did you finish what you were trying to do when Sephiroth attacked you?"

Aeris nodded. "Yeah. Holy is active. As soon as Sephiroth and Jenova are out of the way, it'll take care of Meteor for us."

"That's a relief."

"No kidding." I agreed. "So, Yuff, do you still have you phone? We need to stop Cid from scattering everyone around, get them back here… And where is here anyway?"

Pointing past me, Aeris said "Take a look. We're just outside Kalm. Seemed like a good place to bring us. Maybe you can find a new weapon in town while we're waiting for the others."

"Good thinking. Yuff, phone?"

"Right here!" Yuffie announced. She was already dialing as she spoke, so I stepped in close and listened. "Cid! Cid it's Yuffie! Listen, have you dropped anyone else off yet?"

"Hell no, not yet!" Came Cid's reply. "Red's my first stop, we're almost to Cosmo Canyon now."

"Okay good, look, I'm at Kalm. Don't drop off Red. Turn around, come here right now!"

"What the hell you talkin' about!? It's over!"

"No it's not! I've found something big! We've still got a chance!"

"Look you little spoiled brat, I'm not wasting time…" Cid started to argue. I grabbed the phone from Yuffie hand.

"Cid, this is Christian! Get your butt here right now!" I shouted into the receiver.

There was a long silent pause. Then, "Christian? What the hell!? What happened to you anyway? Where the hell have you been?" As Cid spoke, as soon as he said my name, I also heard other voices raise behind him in the background.

"Never mind that right now. I'll explain everything when you're all here. There's still a chance, we're not beaten yet, but we've got to hurry. Will you come?"

"Yeah. Yeah we're turnin' the ship around now. Kalm right?"

"Right. How long 'til you arrive?" I asked.

"Give us four hours."

"Alright, see you then." I hung up, tossed the phone back to Yuffie. "Four hours." I said. "Time enough to run into town, buy a new blade, maybe new phones for Aer and I."

"That… And, there's one other thing I'd like to do while we're here." Aeris said.

Knowing what she was thinking of, I said "Alright. But if you're coming into town with me you'll need a disguise. We don't want word getting back to Shinra that you were here."

"I've got it covered." Aeris answered. Digging into her supply satchel, she produced a large hooded robe and put it on. With the hood pulled up, face deep in shadow, she was unrecognizable. Leaving Yuffie to watch for Cid in case we were delayed, we proceeded into the town…

OOOOOOO

In town, we asked around at various inns and hotels until we found the information needed to take care of the concern Aeris had mentioned. Following the leads, we ended up across the street from a small but well-maintained older home with wooden walls painted blue and a large porch crowded with potted flowers. "Let's go." Aeris said, but I held her back.

"It's still really early morning and we should wait until she's alone." I said. So we waited perhaps ten minutes, until the front door opened and a young brunette rushed out carrying a heavy bag of school textbooks and ran off down the road. Ten minutes more to be sure the girl hadn't forgotten anything she might return for, and I said "Alright, we should be good now."

"Like we discussed?" Aeris asked.

"Yeah."

Together we approached the house, climbed onto the porch, and stood before the door. I knocked twice and waited. After less than a minute a plump elderly woman answered. "Yes?" she asked, glancing back and forth between us.

I cleared my throat and asked "Elmyra Gainsborough?"

The woman eyed me warily, clearly concerned that I might be a threat. Yet it seemed as if she had all but given up on life after being told her daughter had died. She was weary, holding together only for Marlene's sake, and with Marlene gone for the day, well… "Yes that's me. Can I help you?"

"You don't know me ma'am, but I have some very important news for you. Well, more precisely my companion here does." I nodded towards the still disguised Aeris. "If you insist, we can handle this out here. But this is very sensitive information, best kept secret for now. If you'll trust us, we'd like to come inside."

"Did Mr. Tuesti send you?"

"No ma'am, though I do know of him."

Elmyra seemed to waver on her decision for a moment, then waved us in. Inside, we found a cozy well-appointed home. "Mr. Tuesti provided for my needs until I was able to get back on my own feet." She explained. "And yet in my heart I find anger toward him. I know it's wrong. But he was the one who bought me the news… …About my little girl…" She shook her head, fighting away the tears. "We're inside. What's your news?"

I looked to Aeris, who pulled back the hood over her head. "Hi mom." She whispered.

In seconds, mother and adopted-daughter were in each other's arms, embracing tightly, Elmyra's formerly restrained tears flowing freely. When they finally pulled back from each other, Elmyra asked "But how…? Reeve said that that Sephiroth man, that he had…" she couldn't finish the sentence, instead asking "Why would he lie to me?"

"He didn't actually lie mom." Aeris explained. "I… The truth is that I really was hurt, badly, and it's a long story what happened next but Reeve had a good reason to think I really was dead. In fact, he still thinks I am, though that's going to change in a few hours."

Elmyra nodded curtly. "You're not staying then, I take it?"

"We can't. As dangerous as it is, Sephiroth is still a danger and we're the only ones who can do anything about it."

"I understand…" Elmyra looked to me. "And you are?"

As I introduced myself, Aeris said "We met just outside Midgar… Christian's the reason I survived Sephiroth's attack."

Hugging me tightly at this news, Elmyra said "Then I owe you more than I can ever repay… Listen, I know you have to go soon, but do you have time for tea?"

"Of course." Aeris said. "I really want to catch up while we can."

"I'd like to stay ma'am." I said, "But this seems like a time for just the two of you. And besides that I need to check on something else." To Aeris I said "Gonna check out the Weaponsellers, see if I can find a new blade. Be back in an hour or so."

As I walked away, I heard a confused Elmyra asking "He lost his weapon?"

OOOOOOO

Closing the door behind me, I stood on the porch and thought back to our first visit to Kalm, trying to remember the location of the weapon stores. As I thought, I suddenly heard an unexpected voice from behind. "You require a weapon?" I turned and saw a tall regal woman in golden armor.

"Minerva, I presume?" I asked after recovering from the surprise.

"Indeed. I have a gift for you." She held out a katana unlike any I had seen. At first, all I could see was the handle, with a series of eight paired Materia slots. As I took it in my hand, though, the blade appeared as if out of thin air, shimmering slightly as if illuminated faintly from within. "This is Desperado," Minerva said, "Newly forged to aid in your quest. Much magic has been imbued within; for example the blade was not just invisible, but also intangible. You can place it in that form at will."

"A good 'stealth' mode then."

"The idea precisely. Perhaps of greater importance is this: Do you recall the sword-magic maneuver you attempted against the Materia Keeper?"

I nodded. "I remember that it didn't work as well as I hoped. Aeris exhausted herself to keep the spell energy flowing."

"This blade will not have that problem. It will 'hold' spell energy much longer than other weapons can." Minerva said.

"That could come in handy…" I concentrated on the sword, and as Minerva had said the blade vanished. I cautiously waved a hand through the space the blade would occupy, but as promised it was indeed intangible as well. Fastening the weapon to my belt, I said "Minerva, thank you. This is a perfect gift, and perfectly timed as well."

"I am glad you are pleased."

Thinking of another concern, I said "As long as you're here, may I ask a question? When Aeris closed Sephiroth's portal, a big chunk of Masamune got sheared off and left behind. I took it home for safekeeping, but it vanished…"

"I took the artifact away." Minerva explained. "I had use of it."

"Use?" I asked, still not understanding.

"The fragment was re-forged into a new weapon."

I understood. "This!? That's what you've given me!?"

"You are upset. I apologize if the blade's provenance is unsettling."

"Unsettling? That's an understatement. I mean, my god, he hadn't even washed her blood off of it. All that time later and it was still on there. We're talking about the weapon that nearly took her away from me, and you're asking me to use it?"

"Yes, I am." Minerva answered dispassionately. "The weapon itself is neither good nor evil. No inanimate object is. All depends on how it is used. Consider this, and consider also the ultimate irony, the poetic justice, of delivering to Sephiroth defeat courtesy of the very tool with which he sought his ultimate triumph…"

I turned, intending to reply, but Minerva was gone. Sitting on the porch stoop, I took her advice to consider the things she had said…

OOOOOOO

Two hours later, I still sat thinking when Aeris joined me. Sitting at my side she asked if I had been there all along and I told her what had happened. Intrigued, she said "Well, if nothing else, Minerva is right about the whole poetic justice aspect…"

"I suppose so."

"I know so… Let me see it."

I removed the weapon from my belt and activated the blade. "Wow." Aeris said, looking it up and down, "That's impressive. I can actually feel the magic stored up inside."

"Knowing what this is, you think I should use it?"

"Under the circumstances, I think it'd be foolish not to."

Nodding, I finally said "Yeah… Yeah I guess so."

I stood and helped Aeris up, and we started back towards where Yuffie was waiting. As we walked I asked "So how was the family reunion?"

"Good. It's been so long since I saw her, we had so much to catch up on… I could've stayed all day and barely scratched the surface. I'm glad to see her happy again, you could tell how bad she seemed to be before. She agreed not to tell even Marlene, though there's no way the girl won't know something's up just from her mood."

I chuckled and asked "Did you tell her about us?"

"Are you kidding? No, I think one big piece of news at a time is enough."

"You're probably right there.

"Totally."

As we reached the edge of town, Aeris removed the disguise she had wore and we continued on to where Yuffie was waiting. "Good timing." The ninja said. "Cid's a little early." She pointed and looking in that direction I saw, in the distance, the approaching Highwind.

I reached out and Aeris took my hand. "Here we go…"


	3. Come Together

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Three: "Come Together"

OOOOOOO

=== Begin Third-Person P.O.V: Cid ===

Aboard the Highwind, Cid strode purposefully through the various aisleways and mechanical rooms, examining components, speaking with crew members, in general making a nuisance of himself to anyone on duty. Though he would never admit it, this had become an ongoing habit of his since regaining control of his creation. Anytime he wasn't needed on the command deck, he roamed about checking up on even the most unlikely of potential problems and annoying everyone who crossed his path.

As he approached the control room for the starboard engine pods, a loud whistle sounded through the ship and a voice announced "We are approaching Kalm. Captain Highwind, please return to the command deck." Grumbling, Cid turned away and rushed to his post.

He arrived to find a trio of crewmen busily working and the remaining members of Avalanche, Barrett, Vincent, Red, and Cait waiting for him. "How close are we?" Cid asked, scanning the horizon. "I don't see the town yet."

"We're ten minutes out sir." Came the reply. "I caught sight of the town briefly but it's currently hidden behind the peaks of those hills."

"Alright. Start looking for our pick-up. It'll be the ninja brat and a guy you don't know."

The crewman saluted. "Yes sir." He said, then walked to the front viewport and began searching with a pair of large hi-power binoculars.

Sitting to one side of the chamber, Red said "Cid, you are certain the person you spoke with was Christian? We all remember how he vanished. And even if he were alive, what are the odds of his returning to us now?"

"It was him, I recognized the voice for sure."

"Then Red's first question is answered." Vincent said. "But not the second. How is he alive, and why choose now to return?"

"Are ye suspicious Laddie?" Cait asked.

"Not precisely. But this does seem odd. There's something more to this than we know."

"You think it's some kind of trick? A trap?" Barrett asked. "That don't seem likely."

"Even if it is, we need to proceed." Red said. "Consider the only three possible outcomes; First, it is a trap and we die. Well, we were going to die soon anyway. Second, it is not a trap and we don't go, fearing it is. We die soon when we might have lived. Third, it is legitimate and we go. Just maybe we put a stop to the madness and survive."

"He's right." Vincent agreed. "And besides that, as Barrett said a trap is unlikely. Why bother with us now with bigger threats to handle?"

"Sir?" the crewman at the binoculars said.

"What've you got?"

"Three contacts sir."

"What? Three? Whatd'ya mean three? There oughta be two."

"As you said sir. Nevertheless I have three contacts. Miss Yuffie, the man you said I wouldn't recognize, and an unidentified female."

Cid shoved the man aside and looked for himself. "Let's see here… Okay there's Princess Bratling… …And… Oh, yeah, I called it right gentlemen. That's Christian for sure. And the third person…" Cid gradually rotated through the view until his target came into sight. He choked briefly, and the cigarette in his mouth fell to the deck. "No way!" He exclaimed. "No freakin' way in hell!" He was cursing and laughing at the same time.

As Cid stumbled backwards from the scopes, Barrett asked "What? What is it? Who is it?"

"You'd better look for yourself…" Cid answered. "You'll never believe me if I say it."

Red walked to the viewport, reared up with his forelegs on the sill and, angling his head to get his nose out of the way, carefully peered through the binoculars. "Well?" Vincent asked.

Red turned, dropped to the floor, and whispered "Aeris."

"That is not possible." Vincent answered.

Red motioned towards the binoculars with his head. "See for yourself then."

Vincent did so, then turned and said "As certain as I may be that this is unlikely to be a trap of some sort, we're going in armed and ready…"

OOOOOOO

=== Resume First-Person P.O.V. ===

As the Highwind moved in overhead, the downdraft from it's propellers washed over us, a powerful blast of wind that threatened to knock the three of us off our feet. The breeze diminished as the airship lowered to less than twenty feet overhead and switched into 'hover' mode. A gangplank lowered to the ground, but no one appeared. "Maybe they want us to come to them." Yuffie suggested.

From behind, a familiar voice said "Or maybe the gangplank is just a diversion." Spinning around to look, I saw Cid and Vincent staring right at us. Vincent's gun was drawn, hammer cocked, barrel aimed directly at my head. His stared flickered briefly to Aeris then back to me. "Explain." He demanded.

Staring down the powerful gun, I swallowed and said "That would take time we may not have."

"Cid, Vincent, it's me." Aeris said. "I know how that's gotta seem to you, but it's true."

"Christian and Aeris both vanished. And Aeris was mortally wounded." Vincent insisted.

"Not quite mortally… Look, Red's still with you, right? Get him out here, let him test our scents. He'll know it's really us."

Descending from the Highwind along the gangplank, followed by Barrett and Cait, Red spoke. "I will indeed. As in fact I already do. It's them Vincent, I can tell from here."

Vincent nodded, lowered the gun slightly but not all the way and said "Very well. But I say again, Explain."

"Here's what matters. Cloud is still alive. I know where he is. It's still possible to stop Meteor, Sephiroth, and Jenova and save the world. But in order to do so, we need to find Tifa and get her to Cloud's side, and we need to do it fast. I don't know how long we've got." I sighed. "As for how I know all of this and where I've been… Can you trust me until we locate Tifa? I'll explain the rest then."

"Hell, I say we do it." Barrett rumbled.

"Aye, I agree totally." Cait said.

Vincent lowered the gun the rest of the way. "Alright… What do you have in mind?"

"We need to find Tifa first." Aeris said. "Do you know where she's gone?"

"No idea…" Barrett said. "She jus' stormed off."

"We've tried to call her, but her phone is turned off." Yuffie added.

"We've got to locate her!" Aeris said.

"Yeah, we're sunk if we don't…" I mused. "Any ideas?"

"Oh!" Cait suddenly exclaimed. "I've got it lad! We've got Tifa's number. That can be traced back to her location!"

"Even if the phone's turned off?" Red asked.

"Aye. For emergency purposes the GPS beacon never turns off even if the rest of the phone is powered down. Unless the battery is totally dead, my handler at Shinra can track the thing down… Hang on…" we waited perhaps five minutes then Cait said "Got it! She's in Nibelheim!"

"Then let's move." Vincent said.

As we climbed the gangplank up to the ship, Red came alongside and said to Aeris "May I assume that you are now aware of Christian's origins?"

"I've… Actually known since Cosmo Canyon." She admitted.

"Truly?" Red looked at me. "You told her?"

"Well, your busybody Grandfather didn't leave me much choice… Though in fairness once it was over I was glad he didn't."

Shaking his head, Red said "So even he knows? When, then, do the rest of us learn the truth?"

"I'll tell you what. Once Tifa's back onboard I'll fill the rest of you in."

"We're not waiting for Cloud?" Aeris asked.

"After our reception I doubt Vincent will be willing to wait that long… Of course I still don't wanna have to tell it more than once, but…"

"Teef can fill Cloud in, then." Aeris said.

I grinned. "That works for me."

OOOOOOO

=== Begin Third-Person P.O.V: Aeris ===

When we arrived at Nibelheim, Cid and his crew parked the Highwind just south of the main gate and we entered to begin our search. Surprisingly, the faux townsfolk were not panicking about the Meteor crisis. Quite to the opposite, they were still going about their normal routines as if nothing was wrong.

We checked the reconstruction of Tifa's family home first. The place was empty, but it was clear that she had in fact been there. A bed was torn apart, her discarded cell phone rested on a dresser top, and the dozens of empty liquor bottles provided a clear clue as to where we should look next.

When we found the local tavern, it was abandoned save for the bartender and Tifa. She was sitting at the bar, but didn't seem to have been there for long as only a single empty glass was out. We started to enter, but Aeris motioned us all back out to the alleyway. "Maybe we shouldn't overwhelm her." She said. "Only one of us should go in at first."

"That's smart." Barrett agreed. "Who's it gonna be?" Before anyone else could speak, Aeris answered by slipping through the door herself. "Guess that answers that." Barrett said.

"Yeah." I agreed.

Inside, Aeris quietly stepped up behind Tifa and asked "Is this seat taken?"

"Helf yerself" Tifa mumbled. She was drunker than it had seems at first, and never looked up, nor seemed to recognize the voice.

Aeris sat to Tifa's right, and disappointed the bartender with an order for seltzer water. Serving it, he said "I'll be in the back if you need anything else." Then he retreated to his office.

"So…" Aeris began, "You a regular here?" Tifa didn't answer. "Not me." Aeris continued. "I'm not much of a drinker, see. So what's your name?"

"Yrrg.." Was the closest Tifa came to a reply.

"'Yrrg?' I've never heard that name before. Is it Wutaiian? No? Ah well… So, you look down, wanna talk about it?"

At that point, Tifa rose up off the bar counter and turned to face Aeris. It was clear that she was ready to say something rude and cutting to whoever this person annoying her was. When she saw, though, the words caught in her throat and she just stared, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Heya Teef." Aeris said.

Rather than answering, Tifa turned, slammed her shot glass down so hard it shattered, and loudly exclaimed "BARKEEP!"

Emerging from his back office, the bartender shook his head at the mess and demanded "What the hell'd you do that for!? Those thing's ain't free y'know! Look, what'dya need?"

"I need to know what in the hell you're watering this stuff down with!"

"Listen lady, I don't water down nothin' no time!"

"Then why am I seeing things?"

Laughing, the bartender answered "Jeez lady, as many of those as you've been knockin' back lately, I'm surprised you weren't seein' stuff last week!"

Aeris sat quietly and listened to the ongoing exchange. As the bartender swept up the broken glass, Tifa shook her head and said "Look, I… I'm sorry about the acc… the ac…" Unable in her inebriated state to spit out the word 'accusation' she said instead "Sorry I said what I said. I'm sure you don't water your drinks."

"Apology accepted."

"Good, I used to run a bar myself y'know. Know what that's like…"

Hearing this, the bartender seemed to become more sympathetic. "Ahh. I didn't know that, all the times you been in lately you never mentioned it. So, uh, what exactly did you think you saw?"

"My dead best friend." Tifa whispered.

"Oh… Oh jeez… That's rough… I'm sorry I got so mad lady."

"S'okay."

Finishing his clean up, the bartender returned to the back door, but before leaving he turned and said "Listen, if nothing else, I can at least reassure you that it really was a hallucination."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. There's no ghosts here. Believe you me, the only people here are you…" He pointed at Tifa, "Me," thumb back towards himself, "And 'Little-Miss-Likes-Pink-Too-Much.'" He pointed at Aeris, then left the room.

Something about the way this was delivered seemed to pierce through Tifa's drunkenness. She blinked once, twice, three times, and shaking turned to face Aeris. "A…Aer? It's you? You're really here? You're alive?"

"In the flesh." Aeris smiled. "And this is where I find you? Avalanche needs you Tifa. The world needs you."

"But… But Cloud… And Christian…"

"Christian's here with us Teef. And Cloud's alive too. We need to go to him."

"He's alive? Everyone we thought we lost is alive?"

"Yeah. But we need to hurry."

And so Tifa hugged Aeris and Aeris hugged Tifa and then, of course, Tifa ruined the moment by throwing up and passing out…

OOOOOOO

=== Resume First-Person P.O.V. ===

Vincent and Cid carried the unconscious Tifa back to the Highwind and put her to bed in an empty passenger room. "She'll sleep it off in a few hours." Cid said when they joined the rest of us on the ship's command deck. "What now?"

"Two things." I answered. "First, we need to head for Mideel as fast as we possibly can. That's where we'll find Cloud. Second, we really need someone on the crew to monitor all information on Obsidian Weapon. If it starts to move, we need to know about it yesterday."

"I'll give the orders." Cid said, "But I don't like not knowing what this is about."

"Nor do I." Vincent agreed. "How do you know where Cloud is? Why are you more worried about one particular weapon than the others?"

Holding up my hands, I said "Just a little longer… As soon as Teef wakes up, I promise I'll tell you everything."

"How long will it take us to reach Mideel?" Aeris asked.

"Lessee…" Cid checked his control panel. "At full speed, eighteen hours…"


	4. Explanations

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Four: "Explanations"

OOOOOOO

I stood on the outside deck of the Highwind, watching the land below sweep rapidly by as we flew southeast towards Mideel at the airship's maximum speed. We had been in route for nearly three hours, and as I looked forward along our flight path I could see, on the horizon, the northernmost shores of the southern sea.

For a time I was alone. Aeris had gone below deck to wait for Tifa to wake up. Eventually, I heard a soft padding sound and turned to see Red approaching. He came up beside me and reared up, front feet on the guard rail, looking over the scenery. "I must admit, the view from this altitude is truly remarkable." He said.

"That it is." I agreed.

"Cid sent me with good news. We both assume that your reason for keeping an eye on Obsidian Weapon was a fear that it might move on Mideel and arrive there ahead of us…"

"Yeah… It's going to sooner or later, I just don't know the time frame for when."

"Hmm… I can't wait for Tifa to wake up. This story you have to tell is going to be a whopper, isn't it?"

"You have no idea… You said there was good news?"

Red nodded. "Yes. Assuming that the weapon's top speed is no greater than what we have observed thus far, it is now impossible for Obsidian to reach Mideel ahead of us even if it were to begin moving immediately. Which it has not yet done, it's still 'parked' southeast of Junon."

"Good, good… Say, I've got a question for you. Yuffie tried to tell me about Meteor's approach, why it's so slow, but she didn't really understand it herself. All she got was that it was in a 'funky orbit.' I assume it's a retrograde orbit, right?"

"Correct. Meteor is currently orbiting Gaia in the opposite direction to the planet's rotational spin. This creates a drag that ever so slowly pulls it closer on each orbit." Red confirmed.

"How long 'til it hits then?"

"Another eleven weeks." Red said. "Of course, Meteor is large enough that by all rights it should be torn to shreds when it passes within the planet's tidal limit, but given it's magical nature I rather doubt that will happen." He fell silent for a moment, then added "By the by, all indications are that ground zero for the impact will be centered on Midgar."

"It will. Or would if we weren't going to stop it."

With a sigh, Red said "I wonder where it will all end? After all even if we do succeed there will still be residual troubles. Shinra, scattered Jenova cells, environmental damage. And new troubles will come as well."

"One thing at a time my friend." I answered. "One thing at a time…"

OOOOOOO

=== Begin Third-Person P.O.V: Tifa ===

She didn't know where she was. All she knew was that she didn't remember leaving the bar and now she was waking up with no idea where she was or how she had gotten there. The headache wasn't helping, of course, and neither were the vague memories of a dream (it had to be a dream, right?) about seeing Aeris alive.

Rising from her bed, steadying herself with a firm grip on the closest wall, Tifa opened her eyes and looked around, trying to get her bearings. The room was very small, perhaps eight feet square, furnished only with the small narrow bed, a nightstand, and a cheap metal and plastic chair. The walls were metal, as was the uncarpeted floor. A metal door in the wall across from the bed was closed, and to her right was an open door.

Examining the open doorway, Tifa found a lavatory. This chamber was also small, less than four feet square. Tifa eyed the facilities, but felt no urge to be sick again, so she turned to the sink and mirror. For a moment, she fretted over her own disheveled appearance and tried to straighten out her hair, but then her attention was drawn to a small sign affixed to the mirror just above the sink faucet. It read "Important! Water supplies are limited while in-flight. Unless currently docked, limit water use to one minute. – Highwind Maintenance Team."

"I'm on the Highwind?" Tifa thought. She grew angry at Cid and whoever else was responsible for dragging her back here. Hadn't she told them she was finished, that she just couldn't handle this anymore? Heads would roll when she got ahold of the others.

Tifa marched to the door of her room, threw it open with a violent slam that echoed down the corridor, and strode out looking for the way to the command deck where she expected Cid to be. Fixed on her task, she failed to notice the woman seated on a bench just outside the door, almost didn't even hear the words "Tifa! You're awake!"

"Not now Aer…" Tifa stopped cold. Turned.

"It wasn't a dream." Aeris said. "Or a drunken hallucination. I'm here Teef."

"Maybe I need to throw up again after all." Tifa mumbled…

"Oh no, enough of that! Look, let's go get some food in your stomach okay? Then we'll get everything explained to you and everyone else." Tifa nodded and clung tightly to Aeris as she led the way to the ship's galley…

OOOOOOO

=== Resume First-Person P.O.V. ===

Perhaps an hour later I was still on the outer deck, alone again, looking down at the oceans. The waters sparkled in the bright sun, low waves cresting in one surge after another, and dolphins swam just below the surface, occasionally leaping high into the air. I still wasn't entirely sure how to handle the big reveal to everyone. It was going to be tricky, to say the least. Time ran out, however, when one of Cid's crew came over the P.A. system, calling for me to come to the conference room.

"Sounds like Tifa's awake." I thought, and headed in to get it over with.

Inside, I climbed stairs up two decks and turned onto the central hall which ran the length of the ship. Ahead, I could see the entry doors for the conference room. They were closed, but Aeris was waiting just outside. "I guess it's time?" I asked.

"Yeah. Everyone's waiting inside now." Aeris nodded. "Don't worry, they honestly seem more curious than upset."

I laughed slightly. "For now. How long is that gonna last when they find out I knew all of this, especially all of the bad, in advance? If they even believe it at all, that is."

"It could get rough." Aeris admitted. "But these are our friends. They'll come around."

"I hope so… Let's get this done." I stepped forward in pushed through the double doors into the next room. Seated around the table were Cid at the head, with Tifa, Barrett, and Vincent to his left and Cait, Red, and Yuffie to his right. Everyone was staring directly at me, even the woozy motion-sick ninja, and I was very glad to see they had left Aeris and I seats next to each other.

"Explanations." Vincent said as we took our seats.

"Yeah… Cid, how long to Mideel?" I asked.

"Just over three hours yet."

"Good… That might be enough time for everything." I mused.

Red asked "Your tale is really that complicated?"

Aeris chuckled and said "Once we figure in the full story, plus time to convince you that it's true and time for questions and the fact that some of you will probably be kind of angry… Yeah, three hours is cutting it close."

"Then let's get started already." Cid demanded.

"One more thing, before Christian begins." Aeris said. "You should all know that I have known the truth since we were at Cosmo Canyon. Elder Bugenhagen knew, and he insisted that Christian tell me everything then."

"And what is everything?" Barrett asked.

I sighed. "It's all so complicated I barely know where to begin. Red, you're probably the best one here to ask this question: Have you ever heard the term 'Multiverse Theory?'"

"Yes." Red answered. "It refers to the idea that there are more worlds than just our own, not worlds out in space, but other realities with their own cultures and histories, possibly even their own physical laws."

I continued "It's not just a theory. These worlds actually exist. An infinity, maybe, I'm not sure on that, but they are definitely out there. Travel between these worlds is possible for those who know how. But more interesting and important than that is this; That sometimes a person living in one world can somehow pick up images of events in other worlds. For some reason creative people are the most likely to pick up these images, so it's common for real events from one world to be known as fiction in another."

"You mean like, someone might write a book about another world?" Yuffie asked.

I nodded. "A book, or a movie, or a video game, pretty much any media…" I paused for a moment, then said "I am not native to Gaia."

There was a ruckus at this, and I waited for it to calm down. It was Red who finally addressed me directly. "This actually explains a lot."

"You believe me then?"

"I do." Red answered.

"I think I do too Lad." Cait agreed.

"I am skeptical." Vincent said, and Barret and Cid were nodding. "But given all I have seen I will give your tale the benefit of the doubt for now."

"Well I believe you!" Yuffie said. "After all, that's where I found you isn't it? Those blue portal things were doors to and from your world?"

"Exactly… Teef, what about you?"

Tifa shook her head. " I dunno… Aw hell, why not? But… What about that story you told us when you first came falling out of the sky?"

"Hang on, I'm getting to that…" I said. "I'm not going to waste our time with a full life history, but I can tell you that my life back home wasn't anything special. Mostly I worked, slept, played video games… I was never the most social person after all. But this is where the thing about people seeing other events in other worlds comes into play. I don't know how well you'll react to this but even before I came here I knew about all of you. Some people in my world saw these events and made a game based on it all…"

"Thus explaining how you nearly called Aeris by name seconds after meeting her." Red mused. "But, does this also mean you know how things will end?"

"Kind of. Anyway, my job was overnight shift. One morning I went home and fell asleep, and I had a strange dream."

"Blue midget in space." Tifa said, remembering the story I had told that first day.

"Exactly. He said his name was Ganthet, and that he was something called a 'Guardian.' He told me all the stuff I've just told you, about other worlds and visions people get. Then he told me that your world, the one I knew from the game, was real and that he wanted to send me here. I guess the visions that led to the game were also visions of the future or something, because it hadn't happened yet."

"Fascinating." Red said.

"Confusing." Cid said. "Why? Why send you to butt in?"

"First, let me tell you that even if Ganthet hadn't sent me here your mission would be successful. You would beat Sephiroth and Jenova and stop Meteor. But… Ganthet knew about Jenova. And he was worried, he called her 'The most dangerous corporeal being in the entire multiverse.' He said that he had looked into the future, all possible futures, and that beating Sephiroth and Jenova wasn't enough. Jenova would survive, and attack again in the future. She would destroy Gaia, and move on to destroy other worlds across the multiverse."

Continuing, I said "That's where I come in. According to Ganthet, in all the possible futures there was only one in which Jenova could be defeated for good. But for that to happen, someone with outside knowledge needed to come in and change one key event from the way it would have gone otherwise."

"Okay, I'll bite." Cid said. "What was the change?"

"When Sephiroth tried to kill me at Knowlespole," Aeris answered, "He would have succeeded."

For a moment, no one said anything in response to this. Then Red said "I understand… Aeris is the last Cetra. And only a Cetra can summon Holy. If Aeris died, there would be no way to summon Holy again when next Jenova moved against Gaia."

"Right." I confirmed.

"And so now we're going to Mideel… For Cloud?" Tifa asked.

"Yes. Tifa, listen to me very carefully: Cloud IS Cloud. He's not a fake, not a copy, not a failed Sephiroth clone. It's really him. But after Nibelheim burned Hojo got ahold of him, spent years experimenting on him with Jenova cells. That's why he's so confused. Why Sephiroth can influence him. After he gave Sephiroth the Black Materia, Cloud fell into the lifestream, and was carried through the planet until washing to the surface near Mideel. He's alive, but the combination of mental strain and mako exposure has left him in a coma."

"The poor guy. No wonder he's been so out of it." Yuffie said.

Barrett agreed. "Yeah, that's rough."

"What do we do when we arrive?" Tifa asked. "There's a way to bring him out of it right?"

"There is, but you may not like it… And whatever trust you still have in me will be put to the test." I answered.

A determined expression came over Tifa's face. "Tell me. If it'll help Cloud, I'll do it."

"Okay…" I nodded and explained "Sometime very soon, Obsidian Weapon is going to attack Mideel. We should be able to keep it busy until it decides to leave, but the attack will trigger a surge of lifestream from under the town. Cloud will fall back in… And you need to go with him."

"What!?" Barrett exclaimed. "Teef, I don't like this."

"It's necessary. With Tifa's help Cloud will be able to pull himself back together. And once he does he'll remember everything and Sephiroth won't be able to influence him anymore."

"I'll do it." Tifa said.

"Teef, you sure…" Barrett started to object.

"Yes. I'm sure Barrett. I have to do this."

Aeris said "You probably shouldn't tell him Christian and I are alive until afterwards. In fact, I wouldn't tell him anything we've told you today. Cloud needs to pull together himself. Your role is basically to guide and encourage him, not flat-out tell him everything."

"Makes sense." Tifa mused. She closed her eyes and whispered "Hang on Cloud. We're coming…"


	5. Division of Labor

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Five "Division of Labor"

OOOOOOO

Mideel. After landing just outside of the town limits we made our way into the town itself and asked around until determining the location of the clinic. Tifa immediately rushed off in the indicated direction and the remainder of us followed at a slightly slower pace.

"Poor Tifa…" Red said. "What must her emotions be right now?"

"Gotta be tough." Barrett agreed. "Hell, all I gotta do is think for a minute about how I'd feel if I found out my wife was alive but I couldn't go to her. Honest truth? Dunno if I could survive it."

"I expect every one of us has someone we could say that about." Vincent said softly. He glared at me and asked "Can I assume you know the whole sordid tale of Lucrecia?"

"I wouldn't call it sordid. You did the right thing under the circumstances Vincent."

"Perhaps."

"For sure…" I stopped short of everything I was going to say, but Vincent picked up on the short stop.

"What else were you going to say?" He demanded.

"I… Vincent, I didn't intend to tell you this until a little later on… Lucrecia, she's not quite dead…"

Vincent stopped in an instant, turned to face me. His usually unreadable eyes were filled with the most emotion I had ever seen in them. "But how…? The Jenova cells."

I answered "Yeah. Look, once we've got Cloud back and get the huge materia thing handled I can take you to where she is. But we need to plan things out first, if you just go in, things won't end well for her."

"Very well." He agreed, though it was clear he didn't want to wait.

A few minutes later we arrived at the town's small clinic. Tifa was already inside and we could hear her voice raised as she spoke with the doctor. "So there's nothing you can do for him?" She demanded.

As I walked in the door, the doctor answered "I'm sorry miss. Truly. But, the mako exposure this young man has suffered is just too extreme for medical science to do anything… He shouldn't even be alive." Turning to see us entering, he asked "Can I help you?"

"We're with her." Barrett said.

"Ahh. Well, I can only tell you what I've already told your friend. The boy's recovery, or not, is in his hands. I can do nothing. No doctor could. Either he will live, or not, but only time can tell."

"We understand doctor." Aeris said.

"Spiky-head's tough. He'll pull through." Cid tried to reassure Tifa.

"Well, I have other patients." The doctor said, "I'll let you visit your friend. But, only half an hour for the lot of you. After that, one at a time please. He's down the east hall, fourth door on the left." The doctor smiled and headed off down the west hallway.

OOOOOOO

As we entered Cloud's room, Tifa stopped and shuddered, barely concealing tears at his condition. Barrett and Cid entered next. "Damn!" Cid exclaimed. "I knew it was gonna be bad, but I never thought it'd be this damned…" He was forced to shut up as Barrett elbowed him in the gut, hard.

"Shut up fool!" Barrett rumbled.

"No, no… It's okay Barrett. He's right." Tifa said. She stepped up to Cloud and knelt by his side. "What's it been like for you?" She whispered. "How much pain have you held in for so long?"

Kneeling at Tifa's side, Aeris said "He's gonna be okay Teef. Trust us on this."

"I do." Tifa answered. "Or at least I'm trying to, it's all so much to take in, especially when I'm seeing Cloud like this. And I've not seen anything to prove where you say you've been."

"I have!" Yuffie exclaimed. She rushed to Tifa's side and said "I've seen Christian's world… Well, his house at least… and actually all I got to see was the kitchen. It was nice."

Tifa began to laugh at the absurdity of Yuffie's ramblings even as the ninja continued "I even got a souvenir!" She pulled several pieces of flatwear from her satchel. "See? These'll be worth a lot to the right vendor!"

"That had better not be my good silverwear!" I shouted at her. Tifa was laughing out loud now as I continued "When did you even get the chance to grab it?"

"Probably when we were upstairs getting ready." Aeris said.

"Nuts." I said. "That makes sense, actually."

Calming, Tifa said "Yuffie, thanks… I needed that laugh."

"What she's here for." I said. "You know, the game treats her as comic relief."

Yuffie's jaw fell open. "WHAT!?" She screamed. "That's it, you're taking me back to your world right now, I've got some game designers to hunt down!"

Everyone laughed again, until a nurse opened the door and scowled at us to keep the noise down. After she left, Cait asked "Alright then lads and lasses, what's next? Do we just wait here for the weapon?"

As everyone looked over at me, I said "I'm not sure how to play the next bit… Yuffie said that you recovered a huge materia from Corel, right?"

"Yeah." Cid said. "It's in storage on the Highwind."

"Good… Now, there are three more of them out there. One at Fort Condor, one at Junon, and the last one we'll have a chance to intercept at Rocket Town. Here's what worries me: In the original timeline, you guys recover two before Weapon's attack and two afterwards. The two before were the Corel one you've got and the Condor one. But we're getting here to Mideel late. I don't know if there's time to go to Fort Condor before the weapon attacks or not." I shook my head. "I'm open to suggestions."

"We could split up." Yuffie said.

"Perhaps. But what if a partial group is insufficient for either mission?" Vincent asked.

"That's a good point." Barrett agreed.

"But do we have a choice?" Cid wondered.

Aeris said "I don't think we do. Cid is right. The huge materia contains vast amounts of the planet's wisdom. We don't want it destroyed."

"So we split up then." I said. "But who goes where?"

"I think we should let Red make this choice." Aeris replied. "Red, you're smarter than any of us. Maybe smarter than all of us. You can think tactically, strategically. What do you think we should do?"

"Aeris, I am honored by your trust in my abilities, but this should be a decision for all of us to make." Red argued.

"No, I think she's right." Tifa said. Everyone else agreed.

"Very well then… Hmmm…" Red thought hard for a time. "I expect that Christian will want to remain with Aeris… And I think that Aeris should not be here. So, the two of you will go to Fort Condor. Cid, as the Highwind's captain should also go. Given that the weapon is a flying entity, Barrett, Vincent, and Yuffie are good choices to remain here…"

"And what of you and me lad?" Cait asked.

"Your megaphone is better suited for airborne foes than anything I can do." Red answered. "You stay here and I'll go to Fort Condor."

"Sounds good." Cid said. "And I guess we should get moving."

"Right." I agreed, but Aeris had a question.

"Red, I'll go with your plan, but why did you say that I 'shouldn't' be here?" she asked.

"It's simple really." He explained. "The weapon is, essentially, a servant of the planet. As a Cetra, much the same thing can be said of you. It is entirely possible that if the weapon detected your presence here in some manner that it might avoid attacking this place to ensure that it didn't accidentally harm you. And since we need for it to mount the attempted assault for Cloud's recovery…"

Aeris was nodding in understanding as Red spoke. "You're right. I see it now."

"Well…" Yuffie said. "I've got a dumb question… Why is the weapon attacking needed? If all we need is for Cloud and Tifa to fall into the lifestream why not just go find a fountain that's already there and, like, shove them in?"

"Yuffie!" Aeris exclaimed, but I wasn't so sure the girl was wrong.

"It's best to try to make things happen in the way I know will work Yuffie." I said, "But that said if this doesn't work for some reason… We just might have to do something like that."

"I'll do whatever it takes to save Cloud." Tifa said. "That's why I'm going along with this even though I'm still not positive any of this makes sense."

"We should go." Red insisted. "If we are truly 'behind schedule' as Christian says then there is a risk that we might arrive at the Fort to find the huge materia already gone."

I paled as he said this. "Damn. I was so focused on getting Tifa here in time that didn't even occur to me."

"Then let's hurry…"

OOOOOOO

A short time later I stood near the front of the Highwind's command deck as we flew to the north towards Fort Condor. "I hope we can make it on time." I said.

Seated at the communications console, headphone to one ear, Cid answered "I'm listenin' in on Soldier frequencies… Sounds like we're touch and go on that… The army's mustered east of the fort right now. They'll start advancing any time now… Sounds like they're ready an' just waitin' on the word from higher up."

"What do we do if we can't get past them and into the fort?" Aeris asked.

"Not sure yet." Cid answered. "Hey Red!"

"Yes?"

"Five hours to target. Put that big brain ta' use figuring how to get in in the middle of a battle."

"An intriguing challenge." Red replied. "I will see what I can come up with."

"Good." Cid answered. He stood and walked towards the door. "While you're doin' that, I'm gonna check on somethin' else that might come in handy. Yell if anything comes up…"


	6. The Battle of Fort Condor

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Six "The Battle of Fort Condor"

OOOOOOO

Reader response: Solyeuse, you're right, of course, that the whole idea of trying to restore the normal sequence of events never really works out. On the other hand, in a situation where you're facing, basically, the end of the world if anything goes wrong do you really have a choice as long as it looks even remotely possible? Stick with me, things are starting to change in the background, and in a couple more chapters those changes will start impacting Avalanche's journey…

OOOOOOO

As we flew towards Fort Condor, Red worked hard on figuring out a way to slip in should the battle already be underway when we arrived. At the same time, one of the Highwind's crew members listened in on the Soldier radio frequencies being used to plan the assault and another continued to monitor the location of Obsidian Weapon which thus far still hadn't budged an inch from it's resting spot near Junon.

In spite of the tension of knowing we were heading into a major battle it was actually getting boring just standing on the command deck with nothing to do. Aeris seemed to be feeling the same way, and she leapt at my suggestion that we go below deck and take a look at the huge materia from Corel. Getting directions to the storeroom from the crew, we told Red where we would be and headed down.

The light emanating from the giant crystal flooded out into the aisleway the moment I opened the door. It was so bright, almost blindingly so, that we needed several minutes for our eyes to adjust before we could enter. Once we were able, though, we stood side by side in silence examining the wondrous object hovering at the center of the storage room. Aeris reached out and lightly touched the materia, which momentarily shimmered brighter.

Eventually she said "And they plan to destroy something so incredible?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Though, in fairness, I suppose it might be worth it if it would actually get rid of Meteor… And if there was no other possible way to do so."

"All the wisdom it contains…" Aeris whispered. "You're right though, what good would the wisdom be if there was no one left alive to learn it?"

"I'm just glad that we do have an option."

"Absolutely… Hey, I've got a question." Aeris looked over to me. "Now that you've told Vincent about Lucrecia, when are you planning to let Red know there's another of his kind out there somewhere?"

"I'm not sure… After it's all over I guess. I mean, why distract him now?"

"Maybe, but imagine what it would do for him to know his species has a chance to survive? Aeris asked.

I answered "Does it have a chance? There's this thing in biology, it's called the fifty/five hundred rule. In order for a species to survive, you need a minimum of fifty individuals for the short term, and five hundred for long term survival… Any less, there's not enough diversity."

"Ouch." Aeris said. "Yeah, that's still a problem isn't it? But the world's a big place. Maybe the one you know of isn't alone…"

Thinking of Red's wisdom and friendship, I could answer only "I hope so…"

OOOOOOO

Some time later, we returned to the command deck after hearing an announcement from the airship's crew recalling us all. When we arrived, the reason for the urgent summons was obvious. We were still nearly fifty miles from Fort Condor, yet already units of Shinra's army were becoming visible scattered across the landscape below. Several took shots at us, but we were too high up for the weapons they carried.

"They must have called in the entire army." Red said.

"Just about." Cid agreed. "I've had my guys keep monitoring, I think they kept maybe two divisions at Midgar. Everybody else is right here."

"How are going to get into the Fort with all these troops in the way?" I asked.

"Never fear. I have a plan." Red answered. "It hinges on the Highwind itself, in particular the fact that Shinra, being Shinra, didn't just build her as an unarmed courier even though that's exactly what they claimed she was meant to be."

"This ship is armed?" Aeris asked.

"She sure is." Cid replied. "Both air to air and air to surface missiles. Not very many of either, of course. Not enough room or lift for a full arsenal. But we've got enough to do the trick."

"Thus my plan…" Red began, "As we approach, we will use the Highwind's armaments to clear a area near the Fort's main entrance. We will land just long enough to disembark and make a run for the fort while the Highwind crew lift off and provide whatever cover they can. Once we're inside, we can coordinate with the defenders."

"Will we be able to communicate securely with the airship from inside the fort?" I asked.

"Maybe…" Cid answered. "I've switched to an unused frequency, but we've got no way to encrypt, and no code word system worked out."

"It'll have to do. How long 'til we're in range to begin?"

"Twenty minutes." Cid answered. "So let's all get ready…"

OOOOOOO

As we approached closer to Fort Condor, the number of Shinra troops on the ground increased, and with it the power and range of their weapons. During the last few minutes, we had to start actively evading shots from cannons with enough range to reach our altitude. Cid, Red, Aeris, and myself gathered on the lower deck just inside the main hatch, and Cid continued to direct his crew remotely.

"Okay fellas, we're here!" He said through the ship's comm system. Fire one on my mark… Now!" The Highwind shuddered as a volley of four missiles launched simultaneously. Seconds later, we heard the tremendous crash of detonation and felt the shockwave shudder through the ship.

"Captain, direct hit!" Came a voice from the bridge. "Landing site ninety percent cleared!"

"Great! Now lower the gangway, open the hatch, and fire the second round!"

As the hatch began to open Highwind shuddered again with another four missiles launching. This time the combination of lower altitude and an open door made the boom of the detonations even louder, and I even thought I could feel some of the heat from the blasts.

Moments later we touched the ground. Cid, who had been running down the gangway even before landing was in the lead and the rest of us followed him. True to Cid's command to lift off as soon as we were clear, the Highwind's crew was powering the engines even as I jumped to the ground. All around us were the lingering effects of the missile's explosions, ruined equipment and fallen soldiers for several hundred yards. Looking back away from the Fort, I could see a new wave of troops marching in, but they had no chance of beating us to the gate.

OOOOOOO

At Fort Condor's main gate we were greeted by the same man who had greeted us on our first visit, who identified himself as Major Threed. Even with the damage Highwind had inflicted on Shinra's army he would have been leery of a trap had he not recognized us from our first visit. Instead we were welcomed in and cheered by the small band trying to defend the reactor and it's nesting birds.

"You've done us a great benefit." Our host said, "But there's still an awful lot of troops moving in. I hope you've got a plan for them as well."

"The Highwind has eight more missiles left." Cid said, "But they're air-to-air, not made for ground attacks."

Threed nodded. "That might still come in handy. They've sent bombers again the last couple of days. Just fly overs, but maybe they've decided it's worth risking the materia now."

"Are they sending in actual human troops, or monsters?" Red asked.

"A mix of both. But, the monsters are the majority. They're controlling them somehow with radio devices."

"Then there's our damned opening." Cid said. "Take out the main controller, probably on the commander in charge, and the monsters go free."

"Taking out the remaining troops in the process." I agreed. This explained why it was possible, in the game, to win with a single fight. Of course that left open a big question. "What are our odds of actually getting to the commander though?"

Threed answered "Surprisingly good. He's arrogant, likes to be at the front of the action. He'll be very close-in when the attack comes."

"Then the odds are in our favor." Red said. "Based on previous attempts, how long do you suspect we have before the next wave of attacks begins?"

"Any time now…"

"Then let's get to a good position." Cid said. "We wanna end this as quick as we can."

OOOOOOO

Less than half an hour later, we stood at the pinnacle of the Fortress, looking out over the mountain slopes leading up to our position and the hoards of Shinra troops and monsters climbing towards us. As expected, the army's commander was indeed at the forefront. Riding in an armored pod, preening about in his arrogant assurance of his own greatness.

"Awfully sure of himself." Cid said.

"A common characteristic of such men." Red answered. "Though perhaps deserved given how well he's armored. How will we get to him?"

"There's a way." Aeris said. "There has to be."

"Just stay damned focused." Cid said shaking his head. "We've got the Fort troops to hold off the army. Pretty-boy there's all we've got to worry about."

Just then, a low droning sound reached our ears. Looking out towards the horizon, I saw a trio of Gelnika bombers approaching. The bomb bay doors were slowly opening. The Highwind drove into view from somewhere behind the Fort and fired a single missile which found it's mark. The center Gelnika exploded, and the others began altering their courses, trying to outflank the airship and drop their bombs.

As the explosion subsided, Cid said "Folks, I think that's our damned cue!" The defenders roared and charged out, engaging the Shinra army, and we followed intent upon taking out it's leader.

Taking out the leader proved more challenging than expected. Nothing we could bring to bear was able to penetrate the armor of his pod, within which he watched calmly and laughed at us. For a brief moment, things looked bad; the defenders were losing ground and the commander was unassailable. Then a tremendous explosion echoed directly overhead. I looked up in time to see the Highwind moving away from the falling remains of the second Gelnika. Airplane debris rained to the ground all around us, some of the components quite large. And as luck would have it, the largest of all fell squarely on the commander's pod, cracking it open instantly. He climbed out, a frightened look on his face, and then looked towards Red.

"N… Nice kitty…." The Commander whispered.

Red snorted, indignant. "Kitty!?"

"Forget him." Cid said. "It's me you gotta worry about." He leapt high into the sky, then dived downwards, apparently just missing his target. The Commander flinched back and as he did so the main radio control for the monsters fell to pieces in his hands. "Who said I was aimin' for you?" Cid sneered.

Not to be beaten that easily, the Commander pulled a spare… Which Aeris promptly fried with a thunder spell. All across the battlefield, monsters previously mind-controlled by a combination of radio technology and a manipulate materia stopped fighting. As the defenders withdrew, the creatures shook their heads in confusion then focused on the Shinra troops and went berserk.

The Shinra commander watched, ashen, as his army disintegrated. Meanwhile, the Fort defenders had retreated back inside, and Aeris, Red, and I followed. Cid followed last, delaying just long enough to shout "Then again, maybe it's not me you need to be afraid of either. Maybe it's all those monsters sneaking up behind you!" He then ducked in and slammed the door shut.

The battle from there was, for us, just a matter of waiting. In the sky, the Highwind's crew blasted the final Gelnika, and on the ground the monsters made quick work of the vastly outnumbered soldiers. After that, a few of them tried to smash into the fort, but eventually they just wandered off and dispersed onto the surrounding plains…

OOOOOOO

A short time later, Major Threed guided us to the reactor core deep within the mountain and, once there, to a storage chamber where the Huge Materia was secured. "This is what Shinra wants from us." He said. "I don't know what it's for, but I do know that if Shinra wants it, we want it away from them. Is there any chance you can take it with you, someplace safe? We'll be evacuating soon."

"Evacuating?" Cid asked.

"They'll be back one way or another." Threed answered. "More bombers once your airship's gone, if nothing else… We've held them off long enough for our purposes."

"Your purposes?" Red asked.

Threed nodded enthusiastically and said "Give me a minute to get some people down here to move the materia, then I'll show you…

And so we were led to the highest point of the fort, and out a door onto a narrow balcony. Threed pointed up, and as we looked we saw the enormous condors perched in their nest, baby chicks chittering at their feet.

Jaw dropped, Cid said "Holy… Those are the biggest damned birds I've ever seen."

"They're the real reason we've protected the fortress. But now that the eggs have hatched they'll be leaving soon, flying off, carrying the chicks with them. And with that, Fort Condor's purpose is completed."

As we were standing there, Cid's phone rang. "Yeah?" He answered, putting the phone on speaker.

"Boss, we've got a problem." Came a reply from the Highwind.

"Aw, what are you talkin' about? We're done here!"

"The problem's not here Boss." The crewman replied, then said what I was hoping he wouldn't: "It's Obsidian Weapon Boss… It's on the move, makin' a beeline straight for Mideel…"


	7. Storm Cloud

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Seven "Storm Cloud"

OOOOOOO

Upon hearing that Obsidian Weapon was in-route to Mideel, Cid shouted for the Highwind's crew to land immediately. We rushed headlong down Fort Condor's many floors to ground level and arrived at the landing site just as the airship touched down. Working swiftly, the Fort's personnel loaded the Huge materia on board, and then we were off.

As Aeris and I reached the command deck, Cid was demanding information on the weapon's position. "Eleven hundred miles ahead of us sir." He was told, "Bearing towards Mideel at a velocity slightly greater than our own top speed."

"Well, pour it on!" Cid ordered. "We may not be able to get there ahead of the thing, but I wanna be there as soon after it as possible!"

"Cid, how big of a delay are we going to have anyway?" I asked. "How long between when it gets there and when we do?"

Cid thought for a moment, then answered "Offhand, about two hours."

"The battle will most likely be over by then." Red mused. "Though, if my earlier theory about how the planet's weapons would react to Aeris' presence is accurate, that could very well be for the best."

"And at least we can warn the others." Aeris said. She pulled out her PHS phone and dialed a number.

After three rings, a voice came from the other end. "Valentine."

"Vincent, this is Aeris. We've got the materia and we're on our way back, but something else is going to get to you first."

"Understood. I'll inform the rest of the team."

"Good luck!" Aeris tried to say, but Vincent had already hung up…

OOOOOOO

===Begin Third-Person P.O.V: Vincent===

Vincent hung up and looked over to Barrett, Yuffie, and Cait. "We have incoming."

"Alright!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Time to kick some weapon-butt!"

"Does nothing distress you?" Vincent asked her. She answered solely by sticking her tongue out at him. Vincent shook his head and continued "One of us should climb to the top of the town's windmill, keep an eye for when it draws near."

Cait answered "I'll go lad. I can leave moggie at the base and just jump down onto him when I see the weapon. Not 't mention these eyes 'o mine have a telescopic mode so I'd see it sooner than the rest of you." Cait hopped away toward the windmill.

"The rest of us should talk strategy." Barrett said. "How the hell we supposed to deal with something so big and strong?"

"If Christian is to be believed, we need only keep the weapon distracted until it decides to leave on it's own." Vincent answered. "Though I must admit that is also a tall order."

"Y'know…" Yuffie began, "One of the things that makes an effective ninja is being physically lithe. It allows you to make better use of your agility than a larger person could…"

Nodding, Vincent said "Yes. I see where you're going… Given it's size, the weapon cannot possibly be very agile. We should use that to our advantage."

"Split up then." Barrett said. "Split up all around the area, take turns getting it's attention, confuse it, make it run in circles."

"Exactly." Vincent agreed.

"Sounds great! I'll go tell Cait!" Yuffie rushed off after the robot.

Watching her go, Vincent said "Yes indeed. Entirely too enthusiastic for her own good…"

OOOOOOO

Sometime later, Cait sounded the alarm. Jumping down from the top of the windmill onto his moogles' head, he ran to Vincent. "It's comin' laddie!" the cat exclaimed. "Just popped into view over the horizon, movin' fast!"

"Okay, everyone get ready." Vincent said. He ran into the hospital and down the hall to Cloud's room. "Prepare yourself." He instructed, then ran back outside. As he passed through the outer door, a low, deep rumble filled the air and people all across the town began to scream and run out of their homes, heading for the forested hills surrounding Mideel.

Vincent jumped to the hospital roof and immediately saw the approaching monstrosity. Obsidian Weapon was as big as a house, as ten houses, covered in shining black armor plates with an eerie glow shining from somewhere within. As it hovered over the town, it seemed to be taking it's time in choosing which building to destroy first, as if it were savoring the destruction to come. Vincent pulled his gun and took aim, fired a shot, then two more.

The gunshots ricocheted off the weapon's armor. Little damage was done, but Vincent had gotten it's attention nevertheless. It slowly turned to face him, firing a pair of powerful beam weapons which tore through parts of Mideel as it went. Vincent held his ground as the beams drew nearer, and was rewarded when, from the far side of town, Barrett opened fire on the creature's opposite side. Obsidian stopped and ponderously began to turn back the way it had came from.

"Yuffie was correct." Vincent thought to himself. "It's too big to turn and maneuver quickly."

As the weapon turned, the beam weapons stopped firing, but a new weapon launched a series of missiles that homed in on Barrett's position. Seeing them, Barrett switched targets and managed to destroy the missiles before they reached him. Vincent prepared to fire again, when from behind the weapon's position Yuffie leapt high into the air and threw her giant shuriken. The weapon struck with such force that one of weapon's armor plates actually fractured.

Rather than turning, Obsidian tried to cast Shadowflare on this latest attacker. Yuffie managed to avoid the worst of the dark spell but was still thrown to the ground. While Vincent ran to check on her, Barrett attacked again, followed by Cait who was casting a series of third-tier elemental spells.

Kneeling at Yuffie's side, Vincent asked if she was hurt. "I'm fine." Yuffie replied, "Though I'm gonna have one hell of a headache come morning."

Vincent stood and fired another round of shots at Obsidian, which responded with a renewed firing of the beam weapons it had used at first. Barrett ran to get clear as dozens of building essentially evaporated under the onslaught. The ground was shaking under everyone's feet as the weapon continued to fire. Then a funny thing happened. Obsidian stopped firing, but the ground continued to quake, the shaking taking on an odd resonant quality.

Obsidian paused, seemed to look down at the ground, then fired it's thrusters and rapidly flew away. The entire battle had transpired in less than ten minutes. From the surrounding forests, the townsfolk began to cheer, but their celebration was short lived.

The quaking of the ground faded away, and completely stopped for perhaps half a minute. Then with a roar the quake returned, stronger than before, the earth began to split into wide open cracks, and from out of the cracks shone the brilliant green of lifestream energy. The surface heaved upwards, then fell down, and that quickly Mideel was gone, nothing but shattered remnants and debris floating in the glowing green pool.

"Tifa? Cloud?" Yuffie whispered as she stared at the pool.

"Now is the time to trust." Vincent said, surprising her.

"But… I thought you didn't trust anyone?"

"I don't. That doesn't make the statement less valid."

Vincent and Yuffie stood where they were until Barrett and Cait rejoined them, then the quartet walked to the edge of the lifestream pool, sat down, and waited…

OOOOOOO

===Begin Third Person P.O.V: Tifa===

Tifa looked up as the door of Cloud's room suddenly flew open. It was Vincent. "Prepare yourself." He said. She started to ask for details, but the gunman didn't give her the chance. He was already gone.

"Still, there's only one thing he could possibly have meant." She thought to herself. Seconds later, she heard the rumble of Obsidian's approach and the loud screaming as people ran in fear. "We've got to stay here though. Even knowing what's coming."

After a moment though, a new idea struck Tifa. "Cloud, maybe we should get you outside." She said the comatose man. "After all, falling into the lifestream's probably going to be bad enough. We don't need a roof falling into it on top of us."

Looking around, Tifa located a wheelchair in the hall and carefully transferred Cloud from his bed into it. This took some time, as even for one as strong as Tifa moving an unconscious human body is still no picnic. From outside came the sounds of explosions as Tifa rushed around to the back of the chair and started pushing, out the door and down the long narrow hallway, to the main entrance.

The resonant shaking began just as Tifa reached the doors. She pushed Cloud out, then jumped as the building collapsed behind her. "You see Cloud? What'd I tell you? Not a place we wanted to stay." Then everything went quiet. Still, calm, and entirely too quiet. As Tifa started to say "I don't like this." The shaking returned and she was thrown off of her feet. Great rifts opened in the ground to either side, and the entire area flooded with green light…

OOOOOOO

Slowly, ever so slowly, Tifa came to. She felt rather odd. One the one hand, it was like coming to after a heavy night of drinking or after being knocked out in a fight. But there was no headache and no other pains either. She lifted up her head and looked around. There was green everywhere, an even green glow interspersed with strands of brighter green rapidly moving all throughout. The only 'ground' was a series of floating rocks, and here and there, suspended in the green, were unusual spheres and objects recognizable as windows and lightposts and gates. Four images of Cloud also were also visible, three standing or sitting on the rocks, the fourth suspended high above.

"I'm in the lifestream…." Tifa thought. "Just like Christian and Aeris said…" She called out "Hello? Cloud?"

In a flash of white a Cloud image appeared behind her. Behind him an image of Nibelheim shimmered into view. "Nibelheim… Five years ago… Where it all began…" Cloud whispered.

"That's right!" Tifa answered. She took his hand and said "I know this isn't easy. But I'll be right here with you. Let's take a look."

They walked together into the image which proved to be a solid model of the town. Tifa said "This is Nibelheim as you remember it right?" Cloud nodded and she continued "This is the Nibelheim I remember too… the well, Gramp's inn… So this is kind of like our Nibelheim. Do you remember Cloud? Five years ago Sephiroth came here with another young soldier."

Cloud nodded again, and an image of Sephiroth appeared, walking into the town, then turning and talking to someone not yet visible in the image. As Sephiroth spoke, Tifa said "It was the first time I had seen Sephiroth." Then the Sephiroth image walked further into town, followed by a pair of infantry troops and Cloud. "No Cloud." Tifa said. "No. That's not right. Sephiroth came to Nibelheim with another Soldier, but the other soldier wasn't you. You never came." The Cloud image vanished, replaced with Zach following Sephiroth into town, and then the entire image faded out.

"Cloud didn't come to Nibelheim?" Cloud asked.

"You. You." Tifa insisted. "Don't speak of 'Cloud' in the third person like someone else. You are Cloud. But no, you didn't come." The Cloud Tifa had been speaking to sat on the ground, eyes closed. Deciding she could do no more with him, she crossed the floating rocks and spoke to a second image.

"Do you remember that night?" this Cloud asked. "That night at the well?" Tifa nodded as their surroundings shimmered and they were now standing atop the well. "What if these memories are just a lie?" Cloud asked.

Tifa shook her head. "No lie. Could those beautiful stars be a lie? And us?" Images of the young Cloud and Tifa appeared. "Yes Cloud, that's right! These are the clothes I wore that night! You see, if you weren't Cloud you wouldn't know that! Sephiroth said you made up your memories from the stories I told you. But that can't be right Cloud, because you remember details I never told you!" Cloud was silent and Tifa continued "But even this memory isn't enough to convince you, is it?"

The scene faded away. "What will it take to convince you Cloud? Tell me a memory you have. Tell me…" An idea occurred to her. "Tell me why you chose to join Soldier. It seemed like such a sudden decision."

"I… I was devastated. I wanted to be noticed. And… And I thought that if I got strong enough someone would maybe notice me."

"Who did you want to notice you Cloud?" Tifa asked softly.

"Who? You of course."

Tifa was shocked. "What? But why…?"

"This time, it sounds like you're the one who doesn't remember." Cloud said. Like the first Cloud, this one now sat and refused to say anymore, but another Cloud, in the form of a young boy, came to Tifa's side. "It's okay if you don't remember me from back then. It was a tough time for you."

"What was? What time?"

"Come and see." The young Cloud led Tifa in the direction of the strange window floating in space. Along the way, there was another adult Cloud blocking the path, but he moved, mumbling about "secret wishes" and "hidden memories." When they reached the window, young Cloud asked "Do you know whose window this is?"

Tifa looked in through the window and exclaimed "This is my old room!" As she spoke the words, the scene around them shimmered, and they now stood inside the room.

Cloud said "This memory, is of the first time I had ever been in your room." With a flash an image of young Tifa appeared, on the floor at the foot of her bed, crying. Three young boys stood around her, and one of them, looking out the window, noted that Cloud was coming.

"That's right. I remember now." Tifa said. "We lived next door to each other, but I barely knew you really. Now that I think about it, I don't remember you ever being in my room."

"You always hung out with these three boys." Cloud said. He admitted "I thought they were stupid. Stupid, dumb, childish…"

"But Cloud they _were_ children!"

"Yeah. I know that now. But at the time, I felt left out. I just wanted to be a part of the group, but I was never let in. Anyway, it was that night I called you to the well."

"Yes… It was so sudden. But Cloud, you know what? After you left, I thought about you a lot. Wondered if you'd made it. I even read the newspapers, hoping to see your name."

Young Cloud smiled. "Thanks Teef. Let him know, later. He'll appreciate it."

"Cloud, why don't I remember you coming here though? What day was this?"

"Tifa, I'm sorry but… This was the day… The day your mother died."

Tifa turned to look at the image of her younger self crying. "Oh." She said. "I remember wanting to go to her. And I thought that maybe the dead travelled over Mount Nibel."

Cloud said "You went there. The three guys followed for awhile, but they all got scared and turned back. I followed too. You took a bad step, and I wasn't quite fast enough to catch you. We both fell." The scene changed to Cloud and Tifa at the bottom of a ravine. Two adults came, one of which Tifa recognized as her father.

"Cloud! Why'd you bring her here!?" The elder Lockhart shouted. "What the hell were you thinking!?" He backhanded Cloud off his feet then carried Tifa away.

"They blamed you!?" Tifa exclaimed.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is, this is why I wanted to get stronger. You were in a coma for a week, and I thought that if I had been stronger I could've prevented it. And then I heard about Sephiroth…"

"Cloud, I'm so sorry. If I had just remembered sooner…"

"It's not your fault Tifa."

"But this is still good, right? Cloud, we're getting closer to convincing you that you really are you! We're almost there right?" Cloud nodded, and Tifa said, "Then let's keep moving!"

They returned to the image of Nibelheim and ran most of the way through before Tifa asked "Cloud, where are we going?"

"Um… Erm… Oh! The reactor!" Cloud shouted. Everything went white, and they were inside the reactor next. Sephiroth attacked Tifa and threw her down the stairs, then a black haired Soldier appeared. "Z… Z…. Zach!?" Cloud exclaimed.

"Yes! That's right! It was Zach who came to Nibelheim with Sephiroth!" As they watched the images, Zach followed Sephiroth and was also beaten. "But Cloud, how did you see this? Were you there?"

"Yes… I was… I saw it all from…" An infantry trooper ran into the scene. He took Zach's sword and surprised Sephiroth from behind, wounding the man. Then he turned and removed his helmet, revealing Cloud's face.

"That's it." Tifa whispered. "You did come, you were there all along. But Cloud, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I was embarrassed. I left to join Soldier and didn't make it."

"But Cloud you came! You kept your promise! You came when I was in need!"

"I guess so… Sorry I wasn't fast enough."

The scenery shimmered back to the floating rocks and lifestream. Young Cloud looked up at Tifa and said. "I guess this is it then." Slowly, the various Cloud images moved together, superimposing over each other. Soon only one Cloud remained, who fell to the ground on his hands and knees.

"Cloud?" Tifa asked.

Standing, Cloud said "I'm okay Teef. Really okay, now. I guess I should introduce myself again, this is the first time we've really met since I left home so long ago."

Tifa stepped forward and hugged Cloud tightly. "I'm just glad you're okay." She looked around. "And I think it's time we got out of this place, too."

Hand in hand, they began to float upwards, off of the rock and towards the surface. As they went, Cloud said "I only wish we had put it all together sooner. Maybe we could've saved some lives."

Knowing Cloud was thinking of Aeris and, to a lesser extent, me, Tifa laughed and said "Sweetie, have I _ever_ got a surprise for you…"


	8. Road to Junon

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Eight "Road to Junon"

OOOOOOO

As the Highwind arrived back at Mideel, Red, Aeris, and I gathered on the outside deck and gazed down onto the devastation. Red shook his head. "Terrible." He said. "The entire city is gone."

"I knew it would be bad but geez… I hope everyone who lives here got out." I said.

"It appears so. Look to the east. There is a substantial refugee camp already forming." Red answered.

I looked and saw that he was right. "I guess they'll have to rebuild on a new site."

"Yeah." Aeris agreed. "So, does anyone see our people?"

"Not yet."

"Perhaps they are in the camp." Red suggested.

"Or they could be at the rim of the lifestream pool."

"Wait, there!" Aeris exclaimed, pointing. Below I could just see the team that had remained at Mideel on the far side of the pool. "Cloud's with them!" Aeris said. "They did it!"

"We're back on track now." I said.

Red replied "All good news. But let us not become too confident. Such is a recipe for disaster."

I nodded in agreement. "I know you're right. But for now, I'm just glad we've managed to set things right thus far…"

OOOOOOO

Ten minutes later, after circling around the ruins of Mideel, we landed just to the west of where everyone else was waiting for us. Cid lowered the gangway and we walked out to meet them. Cloud stared at Aeris. "It's true." He said.

"It's true." She answered, and hugged him. "I'm glad to see you too Cloud."

He turned to me and I reached out to shake his hand. "Tifa told me everything while we were waiting." Cloud said. "I'm not sure I understand it, like, at all… But I also don't really care so long as we're all okay."

"Yeah yeah, we all happy. Enough O the wishy-washy stuff!" Barrett exclaimed. "We got a world to save!"

"Yeah!" Yuffie shouted, pumping a fist in the air. "Where to next?"

Everyone looked at me. "I'll tell you aboard ship. But first… Cid, did your crew have that mimmett green in the ship's stable?"

"Yeah, here." He handed it over to me. "What's it for anyway?"

"Well, maybe nothing in reality. It doesn't really make any sense, so it might be something they made up for the game, but I figure it's worth the few minutes it'll take to try. Anyone seen a white-feathered Chocobo around?"

"I did!" Cait said. "It was over this way earlier!" Cait led us to the edge of the mako pool and over an assemblage of broken lumber to the ruined remains of a shop. Inside we found the bird, which was clearly very young and nowhere near full grown. It was wearing a collar around it's neck.

"Aww, it's cute!" Aeris said.

"Looks like someone's pet." Cloud said noting the collar.

I knelt down and offered the greens to the bird which happily ate them down. "What in the world is this about?" Tifa asked.

"This." I answered. I scratched the Chocobo behind it's 'ears.' The creature squeaked happily then started making a strange sound while jerking it's head forward. Then it spit out a bright green materia crystal. I laughed. "Y'know, I had to try, but I didn't really expect this to work."

"Explain to me why a damned bird just puked up a materia." Cid asked.

"Beats me why he has it." I answered. "But it's powerful enough we want it."

"What materia is it?" Yuffie asked as she reached out to pick it up. When she touched it though, her hand jerked back. "Eww! Gross! It's all slimy and it's still warm!"

Cid laughed. "Hell girl, what'dya expect? It's been inside the bird for who knows how long?" He pulled a thick rag from his jacket and used it to pick up the materia. "She had a good question though, what is it?"

"Contain." I answered. "Casts freeze, stone, tornado and flare."

Cid looked at the materia with a greater respect. "Nice. Now if there's nothin' else let's get our butts in gear!" We headed back to the airship…

OOOOOOO

We gathered in the Highwind's conference room again. As everyone was sitting down around the table, a crewman came and informed us of intercepting a transmission about transferring a huge materia from the undersea reactor and Cid instructed him that we were to set course for Junon.

"You said there were two more of these huge materia." Tifa prompted me. "If this one is at Junon, where's the second?"

"We'll be able to intercept it at Rocket Town." I answered.

Vincent asked "Why wait? Splitting into two teams worked well in this instance. Perhaps we could capture the final instance before it gets to Rocket Town."

"Yeah, why not?" Cid agreed. "After all, if we can I'd like to keep Rocket Town from takin' any collateral damage."

"I understand Cid, but I'm afraid it won't work that way. For one thing, I don't know which reactor the last piece comes from, just that it's being shipped to Rocket Town. And for another thing, well, I haven't told you why they're sending it there yet."

A strange expression came over Cid's face. "Why? What the hell is Shinra doin' to my town?" he demanded.

I explained "Not the town, the rocket. They've refurbished number twenty-six. The plan was to load all the huge materia aboard and launch it into Meteor."

As Cid began to curse, Barrett asked "Hold on now. I don't like to speak well of anything Shinra does, but should we be stoppin' a plan to stop Meteor?"

"A good question lad." Cait agreed.

"It won't work. Whether they have all four, or none, or any number, the plan is a bust. Number twenty-six hits Meteor, there's a big explosion, and then Meteor instantly repairs itself."

"Only Holy can stop Meteor." Aeris said.

Still swearing, Cid demanded "Then we gotta stop them from blowin' up my rocket!"

"You might want to reconsider that Cid." I said.

Aeris added "You've always wanted to go into space right? Be Gaia's first astronaut? Here's your chance."

Cid was silent for a time at hearing this. Finally he said "Look, everyone… I know I shouldn't put myself ahead at a time like this. But this is my dream. And probably the only damned chance I'm ever gonna get…"

"We understand Cid." Cloud said.

Red agreed. "Indeed. Everyone has a dream, and precious few get to achieve it."

"Thanks." Cid nodded. Then he looked at me and said "I do come back though right?"

"Oh yeah, you're not that easy to get rid of."

Cid began to laugh…

OOOOOOO

Once everyone was settled again, Cloud asked "How are we gonna get into Junon? It was hard enough the first time."

"Let's just land at the airport and rush in 'guns blazing!'" Yuffie said.

"And rack up an unnecessarily large death toll?" Aeris countered.

"If it is unnecessary." Vincent said. "Is there a way to sneak in?" he asked me.

"There should be. Kind of. I guess Shinra's not paying their guards like they used to anymore, the guard at the elevator should be bribable. For, like, really cheap too."

"Land south of the base then?" Cid asked.

"Yeah."

Cloud said "Okay then, we'll try that first and use Yuffie's plan as backup if we have to."

"Once we're in," Tifa asked, "Will we face much resistance from the base guards?"

"Some. Mostly once we're actually inside the reactor. In particular, everyone should be equipped with Bolt materia or Trine-capable Enemy Skill materia. There's a nasty robot we'll have to deal with. Reno too, though he shouldn't fight."

"Seems straightforward." Cait said.

I answered "There's one complication, which we could probably avoid by splitting into two groups. I'm thinking it's best to let it happen though, it'll work out in our favor in the end."

"I don't like the word 'complication'" Vincent said. "Details."

"We'll probably get there too late to prevent the huge materia from being loaded onto a submarine for transport. In which case we'll need to hijack a sub of our own, sink the transport sub, then come back for the materia after Rocket Town."

"And how does this work in our favor?" Vincent asked.

"The sub will come in handy again."

"Alright, we've got a plan." Cloud said. "Anything else?"

"Naw," Barrett said. "Let's all jus' rest up and get ready to thump Shinra again!"

"Sounds good." Cid agreed. "We've got three hours 'til Junon…"

OOOOOOO

Half an hour later, I was seated across from Aeris in the Highwind's galley, trying to eat the poor quality military-ration based food. It was truly awful. "The field rations were better than this." I said, thinking of the food we had eaten while travelling on foot.

"Yeah." Aeris agreed. "Maybe we can restock when we go to Cosmo Canyon with the Huge Materia."

"Hopefully… We're going to have an opportunity there you know. A period of time between gathering all the huge materia, and Diamond weapon's attack on Midgar, when we won't have to bother with what Avalanche would have been doing during that time since they already know about Holy being activated."

"Hmmm… What do you think we should do? I mean, I wonder how long the gap is? It seems like it could be quite awhile, don't you think? I mean the whole 'search underwater for the ancient key' thing might have taken days or weeks."

"True." I said.

A moment later I was surprised when Vincent sat down at our table. "What's this about an attack on Midgar?" He asked.

"One of the weapons." Aeris replied.

I elaborated "Damage to the city itself will be minimal. Mostly it's just the Shinra building that gets trashed."

"Is it too much to hope that Hojo will be inside at the time?"

"I'm afraid so, but worry not. We'll get a shot at him soon after."

Vincent actually smiled slightly, the first such expression I had seen on his face since the day he joined us in Nibelheim. His expression returned to neutral as Aeris asked "Midgar isn't really what you wanted to talk about is it?"

"No. Christian… You said Lucrecia is still alive…?"

"She's holed up in a cavern north of Nibelheim." I said. "I think it's maybe possible to save her, but it'll be tricky. You'll need to decide whether or not to tell her the truth about Sephiroth. A lie that he's dead will cause her to retreat into some type of crystal. But I'm not sure what the truth would do."

"Thank you for telling me." Vincent said after a silence. "I need to think on this." He rose and walked away, leaving his tray of food uneaten.

"Do you really think it's possible?" Aeris asked me.

"I hope so. For Vincent's sake, if nothing else. He's earned having something go right for a change."

Aeris nodded in agreement, and we finished our meal in silence…


	9. Reactor Raid

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Nine "Reactor Raid"

OOOOOOO

The Highwind dropped us off about two miles to the south of Junon. Concerned about the ship's security, Cid gave orders for the crew to take off and circle to the southeast until we contacted them for pick up, and then we walked the rest of the way into Lower Junon.

We arrived to find the town in even worse shape than it had been during our first visit. "Wow. It's really gone downhill." Tifa said.

"Yeah. I wonder why?" Cloud agreed.

A voice from behind us said "I'll tell you why." We turned to see Jansen, the man who had aided us on our first visit. He continued "Ever since Meteor showed up, Shinra's been refusing to pay their guards here. The guards are making up the loss by taking whatever they want from us."

"That's terrible!" Aeris exclaimed.

"Tell me you're here to put a stop to it." Jansen said. "We're running out of food."

"It's not why we came, but I'm sure we can do something in the process." Barrett said. "Hell, if nothin' else we can bring in some food from the ship."

"Thank you. I assume you're planning to head up to the base again, right? Just bribe the guard this time."

We thanked Jansen and made our way to the elevator where, as expected, the sole guard was easily reasoned with, accepting a bribe of ten gil per person. The elevator ride was unnerving. To put it simply, an OSHA inspector would have a field day with Shinra facilities. There were no walls, no guardrails, no safety features of any kind, on a platform only just barely large enough to hold us all.

We arrived at Upper Junon and followed the main road north. After a short distance, Cloud stopped. "Something's different…" he said. I decided to keep my mouth shut and see how long it took him to figure it out.

"I'm feeling it too." Tifa said. "Like something's missing."

"What could it be?" Cloud wondered.

"The gun!" Barrett suddenly said. "Look! The damned Mako Cannon is gone!"

Cloud and Tifa looked up in surprise. "But… Where did it go?"

"Midgar." Aeris said.

"They're hooking the thing into all six functioning reactors, hoping to pump it up strong enough for a shot to penetrate the barrier around the northern crater." I said. "It'll work too, but that's a story for later."

"Right." Cloud agreed. "Let's move"

OOOOOOO

As we approached the elevator that led down to the reactor we encountered a large number of guards. Most no longer cared since they weren't being paid anymore and simply ignored us but a few actually took a stand. The first group of such numbered three. They rushed at us from ahead, guns blazing. We scattered for cover to the sides of the hall, save for Cid who jumped up, then pushed off the roof downwards, taking out the lead guard. Cloud moved next, sliding under the gunfire of the two remaining guards and finishing them both with a single fluid swing of his blade.

The next team of guards was smarter than the first. Instead of rushing us they took cover against the walls, behind support columns, and fired on us from there. Vincent and Barrett returned fire to keep them cornered while the rest of us worked to actually deal with them. Yuffie tried to cut through a column with her boomerang but the material it was made from proved too tough. Aeris and Red were trying to attack with magic, but the guards seemed to be well protected from spells. It was Tifa who managed to take out the first guard. She slipped out of the hall into a side room, then took out the guard by punching through the wall and grabbing him, pulling him head over foot and slamming him to the ground unconscious.

Cloud, who had followed Tifa, then jumped through the new hole in the wall, across the aisleway to the next guard, and cut him down. The lone remaining member of his team, the third guard retreated to the elevator shaft where he took position with the two men already standing guard over it.

We faced the elevator from a safe distance down the hallway. "They're entrenched." Vincent said. He looked to Cloud. "How do you want to handle this?"

"Sleep?" Aeris suggested.

"That's iffy." Cloud disagreed.

"I've got an idea Laddie." Cait said. "In here!" He went into the same room Tifa had used and pointed up to the vent. "Can ye get this cover off?" As Cloud removed the vent cover, Cait continued "I'll pounce into the lift from above, create confusion for you to use." Cloud pulled the cover down and Cait jumped up off his moogle and into the ducts.

The rest of us returned to the hall and waited. After perhaps ten minutes the sound of a ruckus arose from out of the elevator, shouting followed by gunfire and screams. With the guards distracted we rushed in quickly. Inside the lift, Cait was jumping about from one guard to another, a flurry of rapid movement. Vincent grabbed a guard and hauled him into the hall where Yuffie knocked him over the head. As he fell to the floor Cid and I hauled out the second guard, who Aeris cast Sleep on. The third was already down from Cait's surprise attack. We lined him up next to his comrades, then entered the now emptied elevator. After a brief wait for Cait to retrieve his moogle, Cloud pressed the down switch.

OOOOOOO

At the bottom of the elevator shaft, We found a narrow path which wound it's way to the head of yet another elevator down. At the bottom of this second shaft, the doors opened up to reveal a wide, curving pathway which led into the actual reactor building. The roof of the passage was constructed entirely of glass, giving a stunning view of the ocean floor and marine life swimming about all around us.

For a moment, when we first stepped into the tunnel, everyone was overwhelmed by the beauty and tranquility of the scenery. Luckily the tunnel was devoid of guards. "Incredible." Tifa whispered.

Barrett agreed. "You all see this?" He asked. "This right here is what we fightin' to save. The planet, and all of it's life and beauty. I mean sure, it's the people too. But where'd the people be without the rest of the life?"

"Then let's keep moving." Cloud said. He led the way as we travelled down the long curving tunnel to the Reactor building. Once there, we found the doors locked, though this was of little importance once Tifa simply punched out the locks and shoved the doors open.

Inside, we made our way without incident to yet another downwards elevator. "Another damned lift?" Cid complained. "How the hell do they have any power left over to send out once they finish powering all these damn things?"

"Last one Cid." I said. "Or at least it should be."

Upon reaching the bottom of the shaft, we began to encounter resistance again. Guards were joined by robots, mini-tank drones, and a smattering of third-class soldiers. Of these, only the soldiers posed much in the way of a real threat. Their skill with their swords was potent, and they supplemented it with a great deal of high level magic. Barrett, Cid, and I all took hits from third-tier spells at least once, and everyone took a number of second-tier spells. Aeris' skills as a healer were put to the test, especially as we made it further into the reactor.

Eventually, we found the submarine docks. "We're getting close." I said. Looking around and seeing no threats for the time being I added "We should heal up. There's a nasty enemy just ahead."

Aeris was about to start casting cure spells again when Red stopped her. "Save your strength." He said. "These should be sufficient." From out of wherever he carried the vast armory collected over our adventures he produced for each of us an x-potion and an ether.

"I still wanna know where all this stuff is stored." I said to Red, who didn't see fit to answer.

After using the recovery drinks, we continued on. It was about fifteen minutes later that we witnessed the Huge Materia being loaded into the red submarine. But I also saw something else. "Who the hell is that?" I whispered, indicating the Turk supervising the loading. "It should have been Reno here."

"Shoulda ain't what is." Barrett rumbled. "I seen this Turk before, can't place his name though. Not Reno though, that's for sure. And if you wrong about that what else you wrong about?"

"Barrett, Christian told you up front that he couldn't guarantee every detail." Aeris said.

"We'll figure it out later." Cloud said. "Let's go."

As we approached his position, the Turk must have heard our footsteps because he turned to face us. Here before me was the slimiest, smarmiest, most arrogant and cocksure jerk I think I've ever seen. "Well well," He said with a pretentious tone, "The barbarian hoards. 'Aggregate' isn't it?"

"Avalanche!" Barrett shouted.

"Close enough. I really don't have time for you I'm afraid." He turned and ran towards the waiting sub, while a large robot took his place.

"I take it this is the 'nasty enemy' you referred to earlier?" Cloud asked.

"Oh yeah."

Looming over us, the Carry Armor robot was even bigger than I had expected. As a point of reference for readers who've played the game, it looked much the same save for it's size and the presence of four arms instead of two. "Intruder alert." The machine said, "Initiate Defense protocol 184-gamma." With that it attacked, rushing forward and trying to grab up Vincent who dodged to the side and opened fire, his bullets blasting through the metal skin and causing sparks to emerge from within.

Cloud, Red, and Tifa leapt forward side by side and, ducking under the robot's legs, started attacking. The machine tried to reach them, but was unable to given their position, so it jumped up and away. As Cloud and company attempted to follow, the Carry Armor landed near Cait's position and grabbed him off the top of his moogle.

Yuffie leapt high and threw her shuriken, only to have the machine bat it back at her. She dodged her returning weapon, as well as an attempt to grab her, then ran off to recover the shuriken.

Meanwhile, Vincent and Barrett were still shooting, and Cid was watching for an opening to attack the rapidly moving enemy without being grabbed himself. Aeris said to me "Thundara?"

"Yeah, that's good. In fact… Now's as good a time as any to test how well this new blade holds onto a spell." Aeris nodded and cast Thundara onto the blade of my sword, then started casting the spell directly onto the robot.

I ran forward to join Cloud's group, but had a hard time getting there. Again and again, the machine either struck the ground in my path, tried to grab me, or moved to protect itself from Cloud, Tifa, and Red's attacks. I settled for striking a blow whenever one of the arms smashed to the ground in front of me. The blade itself did little damage, but the spell enchanted into it was effective.

During one such moment, I noticed Cid leaping overhead to strike at the machine's head, followed by Yuffie attacking again. As she did so, she shouted to Cait "Hey cat! Get outta there why don't'cha?"

"Afraid I can't Lass! Somethin' about this thing, you can't move while it's got ahold of you!" Cait shouted back.

"Then we've just gotta loosen it's grip some!" Tifa said. She jumped up and tried to climb to the arm holding onto Cait, but was thrown clear and grabbed in a second arm, followed almost immediately by Cid also being captured.

"Least it's almost outta arms." Barrett yelled.

From across the chamber, Aeris cast yet another Thundara spell, then said "We've still gotta get them out of there or we'll never beat this thing!"

"I'm open to suggestions!" Barrett answered.

"I'm open to anything that gets me the hell out of here!" Cid yelled.

"Let's see how it likes this!" Cloud shouted. He jumped high into the air and used his Climhazzard attack on the arm holding Tifa. Severed, the arm fell to the ground and she punched her way out.

"You can move once it's disconnected!" she exclaimed.

"Then let's take advantage of that by getting rid of the rest of those arms!" Cloud agreed.

They tried to climb to another arm, but the robot jumped back, away from everyone, and used it's previously unseen Lapis Laser attack. The beam swept through in an arc, devastating the ground in it's path and throwing our team into disarray as everyone sought to avoid it.

The good news for me is that the disruption bought me the chance to sneak in close and finally join Cloud and Tifa. We rushed in again as soon as the laser cut off. "Cait first!" Cloud said, "Then Cid." We followed the difficult route of climbing to the top of the machine where the arms were jointed into the main body. At first this was made harder by the machine's continued attempts to dislodge us with it's empty arm. Luckily, a simultaneous hit by a round of Barrett's shots and Aeris' spells shocked that arm loose.

Unimpeded, we were able to reach the arm joints at last. We focused first on the arm holding Cait. By this point in the battle it had already suffered noticeable damage and broke free after only a handful of blows. Cait exclaimed happily as he climbed free of the arm and remounted his moogle. Cid's arm was last. Cloud and I took turns hacking away at the joint while Tifa turned her attention to the robot's head, smashing in it's sensors and ripping out circuitry.

As the final arm detached and fell, We all jumped free of the machine. Barrett and Vincent opened fire again, backed up by Thundara spells from Aeris, Cait, and Red once we were clear. Carry Armor shuddered, sparked, and fell to the ground in a heap…


	10. Yellow Submarines

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Ten "Yellow Submarines"

OOOOOOO

After beating the Carry Armor robot, we rushed further into the submarine bay, arriving just in time to see the mast of the red sub vanish beneath the water. "Looks like you was right." Barrett said. "We gonna hafta go after it."

"But who here knows how to operate a submarine?" Vincent wondered.

"Maybe I can manage it." Cid said.

"Or Cloud. He's a pretty good driver." Yuffie added.

"There's an instruction manual if we need it." I said.

"Then what are we waiting for? Every second that red sub gets further away."

"Look down that way!" Tifa exclaimed, pointing. "We can take that one!"

"Aw, are we gonna hafta fight the crew?" Yuffie wondered. "I'm beat after that stupid robot!"

"No worries, we should be able to take them prisoner without a fight." I said.

"Good." Cloud said. "There's been enough fighting for today."

"Well the fighting's not quite done." Aeris said. "We'll have to fight off other submarines, isn't that right?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Cid, maybe you should handle the torpedo system while Cloud drives."

"Better than just sittin' back an' watchin'..."

OOOOOOO

We reached the sub entrance without any further opposition, climbed the ladder down, and headed forward to the bridge. There we were met by the small crew, who jumped up from their stations and grabbed weapons when they saw us. "What'dya we do Captain!?" One sailor exclaimed.

"Should we fight?" Another asked. "I mean, I've never even gotten to use my special battle pose! But then again I don't want to die!"

"Do your duty men!" The Captain ordered, but the sailors all shrank back.

"Look, we don't need to fight." Cloud said. "Just stay out of our way and we'll let you go when we reach land."

"You heard the man." The Captain said to his crew. "There's no point in a fight we can't win. Get back outta their way." The crew carefully moved to the back of the bridge where Barrett and Red kept an eye on them.

Cloud, meanwhile, suffered from a brief bout of claustrophobia. Glancing over his shoulder, Barrett yelled "Hey! He's not freakin' out again is he?"

"No, it's okay!" Tifa answered. "He's just not good in tight quarters. Look, Cloud, try driving, you'll feel better."

"Yeah, alright." Cloud hopped over the back of the pilot's seat and settled in, familiarizing himself with the controls and the layout of the boards. He pulled a small booklet from a shelf and tossed it to Cid. "Here, owner's manual. Figure out how the weapons work."

As Cid began to leaf through the book, one of the sub crewmen nervously asked "Um… Have any of you ever even been in a submarine before?"

"Not me." Cloud said. "Hey Teef, you were right. I feel better already! Now, which one of these is the accelerator?"

The crewman turned green. "We're dead…" he cried…

OOOOOOO

Cloud learned quickly, and inside of ten minutes we were underway, exiting the reactor building and out into the open sea. Cid took a seat to Cloud's left and started arming the torpedoes for launch. "How are we gonna find the other sub?" Cloud asked. "I can't make heads or tails of these sonar screens."

Cid leafed through the manual again, then pulled out several pages and held them out. "Somebody read up on sonar, then take the right seat." He said.

When no one else stepped forward, I took the pages and read through them. I was surprised to discover that everything was very straightforward, much simpler to interpret and understand than I had expected. Following the manual, I keyed in a series of commands which altered the view on the screen in front of Cloud. At the center of the screen was our sub. Near the top moving away was a sub flagged with a red symbol, and following the red sub were a number of yellow-flagged subs. I explained the layout to Cloud, who altered our heading and accelerated. We began closing in on the red sub immediately.

I keyed in another command and a target lock symbol surrounded the red sub along with a number, counting down, in the upper left corner. "The number should be time-to-intercept." I said. "Though it won't be that easy. Those other subs are gonna be a problem."

"An that's my job 't deal with right?" Cid asked.

"Exactly." Cloud answered.

We continued on, drawing nearer to our quarry. Everyone except for Barrett and Red, still guarding the captives, came forward and stood behind the seats. After a few minutes, another target appeared on the sonar map. "What's that?" Tifa wondered.

I stared at the new target, designated 'Unknown' and swore repeatedly.

"What's wrong Lad?" Cait asked.

Shaking my head, I answered "There's only one thing that can possibly be. Emerald Weapon. Give it a wide berth Cloud, the thing would shred this sub in seconds."

"Understood." Cloud said. He adjusted our course slightly, keeping us trailing our target while increasing the distance between us and the Weapon, which was travelling roughly parallel to our original course, though in the opposite direction. After a few moments it passed out of sonar range again. Cloud breathed a sigh of relief.

As we drew closer to the red sub, the yellow sub crews finally took notice of our approach and turned to attack. "Here we go." Cid said. He targeted the first yellow sub and fired two torpedoes. The first missed it's mark, but the second struck home. The sub imploded instantly, crushed by the pressure. Even as Cid was yelling in triumph, alarms began to sound, warning of approaching torpedoes from the remaining yellow submarines.

I looked at the display, which showed six incoming shots. Cloud began to pilot the sub evasively, dodging the first three which sailed on harmlessly. The fourth must have been fitted to detonate based on proximity rather than impact, because Cloud dodged it as well, but it exploded anyway, the concussion rattling us about but doing no serious damage.

As the last two torpedoes approached, Cid fired two more of our own, scoring direct hits that destroyed them both. "Nice shooting Cid," Cloud said, "But be careful, our supply's got to be limited."

"Yeah." Cid grudgingly agreed.

Cloud accelerated again, pushing our sub to it's maximum speed. We blew past the remaining three yellow subs and closed on the red one. Cid fired another pair of torpedoes, but both missed and he cursed loudly, then focused on the manual again, reading quickly, looking for something specific.

"Cloud! Look!" Tifa suddenly exclaimed, pointing at the sonar readouts. The yellow subs were pouring on speed the same as we were, gaining on our position. Of greater importance, another set of torpedoes was approaching even faster.

"Can we outrun them?" Yuffie asked.

"Not a chance." Cloud answered. "I'm pushing us to full speed as it is, the torpedoes are faster… Cid, I'm gonna hafta break our target lock on the red sub in order to dodge them."

"Not just yet!" Cid answered, "Gimme a second here, found what I was looking for, just need a moment 't launch another torpedo!" He adjusted a control and slammed his fist down on the firing button, proudly declaring "They're not the only ones who can set proximity fuses!"

As Cloud began his new set of evasive maneuvers, we watched our latest shot which exploded near the red sub. The target wasn't sunk, but it's speed decreased drastically.

"Good shot lad!" Cait said. "They're limping now, so we'll have more time to focus on the others first."

We sailed forward, Cloud turning our path in a wide arc away from the red sub and back towards the yellow subs following us. The latest spread of torpedoes continued on our previous heading and on out of sonar range.

As we closed on the yellow subs, Cid loaded and armed a new set of torpedoes. "Too bad I can't find instructions on homing torpedoes." He said, again looking all through his section of the manual.

"Are you gonna set the proximity fuses again?" Vincent asked.

"Nah, little too dangerous with them coming right at us."

Well heads us!" I said, "They'll be in range any second!"

Five seconds later, Cid launched the first two, followed by two more another three seconds afterwards. The first pair was a split; one connected with another torpedo launched in our direction, the other missed entirely. Cloud dodged around the path of another shot as our second pair of torpedoes struck home, blasting their target to the bottom of the sea.

"Two down!" Cid cheered, "Three to go!"

Cloud again turned us about, heading back in the general direction we had originally been sailing. As he did so, we found ourselves coming up from behind the two remaining yellow subs. Cid fired again, but curiously they made no effort to turn to face us, instead continuing on their heading and evading our shots. The reason became clear when both abruptly cut their forward speed to zero. We were unable to slow down in time to avoid ending up in front of them again.

Then the sonar screen lit up with new contacts; both yellow subs were unloading everything they had in a determined effort to eliminate us. Four torpedoes became eight, twelve, sixteen. "Bad news!" Cid shouted.

Go go go go go! Run!" Yuffie exclaimed.

Cloud pushed our speed to maximum, but it wasn't enough. The torpedoes, now numbering twenty-four, were still gaining on us.

"Careful with this speed Cloud!" I warned. "We're going too fast to get a good look ahead, and hitting something'd end us just as quick as those torpedoes!"

As if to prove my point, a massive contact suddenly appeared in our path. Cloud pulled up and we sailed overhead, just missing impact. "What the hell!?" Barrett shouted.

"Emerald Weapon again!"

"Oh my." Red murmured. "If any of those torpedoes hit it, it could well blame us."

We all watched the sonar screen as all of the torpedoes reached the Weapon's position and vanished. Shortly thereafter, a rumbled of multiple explosions reached us. "All proximity fuses." Cid said. "This could be bad."

The Weapon held position for several more seconds, then turned and began to move. Cid had been half right; it was indeed bad news, but not for us. I guess it somehow analyzed the torpedoes and knew which subs they had been fired from. It headed straight for the remaining yellow subs, which vanished from our sonar screen one by one.

"Well I guess that's that." Cid said.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. Let's go find our primary target again…"

OOOOOOO

It took us about twenty minutes to re-acquire the red sub. As we came up behind them they were still underway, limping slowly forward. Working the controls, Cid said "Target locked."

"Go ahead Cid."

Cid nodded and fired four torpedoes. The red sub dodged the first, but the remainder were direct hits. With a terrible ripping sound that we was audible to us, the red submarine imploded and sank to the bottom.

"And now it's recovery time." Cloud said. He started to drive us directly over the top of the downed sub.

"Hang on a second Cloud." I said. "Any moment now we should be hearing…"

As I spoke, the radio switched itself on and a woman's voice said "Attention all Shinra submariner crews: Attention all Shinra submariner crews: All teams not on active H.M.3 transport duty return to Junon Base for Airport security duty. Repeat, return to Junon base immediately."

"We can come back for this materia later." Aeris said.

"What!?" Cid asked. "Recovery would only slow us down a few minutes."

"Yeah, but those few minutes might mean Number Twenty-Six taking off without you."

"Then get this damned sardine can movin' Cloud! I've got a date with the history books and I'm not missin' it again!"


	11. Reason Before Honor

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Eleven: "Reason Above Honor"

Author's Note: I just wanted to say that a particular comment made by Christian in the course of this chapter DOES NOT represent my own feelings. I actually like the Yuffentine pairing…

OOOOOOO

As soon as we surfaced, just to the southeast of Junon, Cid was on his PHS phone shouting for the Highwind's crew to meet us at the shoreline. "Gawd Cid calm down!" Yuffie admonished him. "We'll make it in time!"

"And what if we don't!?" Cid demanded. "What then!? What the damned hell then!? Huh!?" Everyone stared at the man, surprised by his outburst. Cid was always a loud man of course, but this reaction was extreme even by his standards.

"Cid…" Tifa said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Cid waved her away. "Yeah. Yeah I know. I shouldn't be so worried about the rocket with the whole world on the edge of the crapper… But… You can't know what this means to me. It's my dream. And any risk of missing it…"

"We do understand Cid." Cloud said.

"Hell yeah we do! You ain't the only one with a dream y'know!" Barrett agreed.

Cid grinned slightly. "Heh. Yeah, alright. Let's get movin' then."

Hey wait a minute!" Barrett said. "What about them?" He pointed to the captured Shinra crew.

Red said "We cannot leave them here. Nor can we release them, given that we will need the submarine again and if free they will undoubtedly lead Shinra agents back here or simply pilot it away themselves."

Everyone was silent for a time. No one was willing to kill unarmed men even if they were our enemies, yet no other solutions were offering themselves either. Vincent looked over to me and asked "Christian?"

"Sorry. The game kinda just forgets about them." I answered.

"Hmmm…"

Finally Cait said "Hold on a moment… Aren't there a few detention cells on the Highwind?"

Snapping his fingers, Cid answered "Oh hell! Yeah, we got room for them, plenty of room! Now lemme say it again, let's get movin'!"

Under threat of Barrett's gun-arm, our prisoners led the way out of the sub and onto dry land. Ahead, the Highwind was just settling to the ground, gangway already opened. When we reached the airship we found Cid's second-in-command waiting. "Rocket Town!" Cid ordered. "Full speed. I'll join you on the bridge as soon as we square the prisoners away."

Cid guided us down a narrow bottom-deck corridor I hadn't been down before, to a set of four cells. We herded the submarine crew into them, aided by a Highwind crew member who was assigned to guard the cells. Once everything was secure, Cid rushed to the bridge while the rest of us were free until we arrived at our destination…

OOOOOOO

A little while later I was walking with Aeris along the outer deck, enjoying the brief calm between missions. "I just don't get it." I said. "It should have been Reno. Not, um, whoever that other guy was."

"Which raises two questions." Aeris agreed. "First, why was it different, and second, if Reno wasn't where he should have been, then where is he?"

"I don't like it. The smallest change can have massive effects in the long term."

Stopping, turning to face me, Aeris said "Like me still being around? Those 'massive effects' aren't necessarily bad."

"Well, no, but…"

"But it still bothers you not knowing what to expect in advance." She said. "Is it really so bad? Before Ganthet bought you here, you lived your whole life on earth not knowing what was coming in advance."

"Yeah, well, I also lived my whole life there not trying to stop a genocidal madman."

"Point." Aeris granted. "I still say 'take it as it comes' though." She raised up on her toes and kissed me.

"I needed that."

"I know."

Laughing lightly, I said "Alright. I won't worry about Reno for now, yo."

"Oh no, don't you dare start talking like him!"

"Talking like who, yo?"

"Stop it!"

"Stop saying 'yo,' yo?"

"I'm warning you…" we both broke into laughter.

We were both still laughing when I caught the sound of a pair of voices in what sounded like an argument. Continuing forward and peeking around a corner, we saw Yuffie and Vincent.

"Just a little smile!" Yuffie pleaded.

"Why does it mean so much to you?" Vincent asked.

"Because you, like, never smile! I want to see my friends happy!"

Shaking his head, Vincent said "I become more and more convinced that I should have nurtured your original conviction that I was a vampire. It might have purchased me some silence."

"Aw, c'mon Vinny! You don't really mean that!" Yuffie exclaimed.

Vincent raised one eyebrow slightly. "'Vinny?'" he asked.

"Bah! You can't seriously be telling me no one has ever called you Vinny!"

"I can and I am. It has always been 'Vincent' or 'Mr. Valentine.'"

"Really!?" Yuffie asked. She got even more excited. "Awesome! That makes me the first! Isn't that great Vinny, you've finally got a nickname and it's all thanks to Yuffie Kisaragi, World's Greatest Ninja!"

Shaking his head again, Vincent let out an exasperated sigh. "And you're going to be Empress someday… I fear for the future of Wutai."

Totally missing the sarcasm at first, Yuffie said "You're afraid for Wutai? Why? What do you know?" As Vincent walked away, it finally dawned on the ninja what he had meant. "Hey! Hey you come back here! We're not done here yet!" She chased after Vincent who continued to try to ignore her.

Aeris was still giggling as they rounded a far corner out of sight. "Yuffentine my ass." I murmured.

"Yuffen-what?" Aeris asked.

"Trust me, you really don't want to know…"

OOOOOOO

The Highwind landed at the eastern edge of Rocket Town and we walked into town. The place was swarming with Shinra employees, but they all seemed to be engineers and technicians rather than soldiers and we encountered no resistance. In fact, none of them even seemed to notice us. All were far too busy with their tasks in preparing number twenty-six for launch to be paying attention to anything else.

As we continued, Cid surprised me by making for his house rather than rushing directly for the launch pad, and I asked him about it. "I thought you were in such a rush. I'm amazed that you're making a detour."

He pointed to a large convoy of tanker trucks passing through town. "Fueling trucks. If they're only just now headed out to the pad we've got time, fuelin' will take four hours."

"Makes sense." I agreed. "Time for a nice cup of tea?"

"Or maybe you just wanna check on Shera?" Aeris teased.

"Nah, it's the tea." Cid said, a little too quickly.

Cid led us through his front door, shouting out as he entered "Hey Shera! Put the water on t' boil, we got guests!"

From somewhere else in the house, Shera answered back "I'm afraid that's not possible right now Captain… You might want to come in here."

"The hell?" Cid grumbled. He led us into the kitchen, where we found that Shera was not alone; Seated at the table were Tseng and Elena. Reno and Rude stood behind them near the far wall. Tseng appeared well, but the other three were visibly stressed. "What the…? What are you doing here!?" Cid exclaimed.

As Cloud and Vincent pulled their weapons, Tseng held out his hands. "Everyone, please be calm. We're not here for a fight." He glanced at Aeris. "Ahh, it pleases me to see you have recovered."

"I'm glad to see you're okay too. But I have to agree with Cid, why are you here Tseng?"

Ignoring the question, Tseng said "Yes, my recovery took some time, but it was only your intervention that gave me that time… I'm glad to see the doctors in Wutai did their jobs."

Aeris' eyes widened in understanding. "Tseng? Are you… You're the one who got me out of Knowlespole?"

"Elena and I, yes."

"Not that I'm complaining, but why would you do that?" Cloud asked.

"And how did you know to be there?" I added.

Tseng smiled slightly. "The why is the easy part. Honor. Aeris saved my life at the temple. I owed her her life in return. As for how I knew what was going to happen, well…" He looked at me. "Your mentor can be very persuasive."

"Mentor…? Wait, Ganthet? He contacted you?"

"Yes indeed. A rather strange and confusing fellow, frankly, but he offered me a chance to repay a debt owed by intervening after you were… removed… from the situation."

"Alright then, I guess we all gotta be thankful you did what you did." Barrett said. "But you're still Shinra! What is it you want now?"

Tseng sighed, rubbed his eyes wearily. He answered "Please understand… Honor and duty are everything to me. Both require that I remain loyal to Shinra. But I am not such a fool as to place honor above reason. The world itself is in peril and Shinra's actions are both responsible in the first place and quite possibly threatening to escalate the danger now. Therefore, the only course of action open to me is to do whatever is needed to save the world, even if it means acting against Shinra temporarily, in order to save Shinra and thus fulfill my duty more fully than I would by blindly obeying orders."

"You wanna simplify that for us?" Yuffie asked.

"We're here to help you until such time as Sephiroth and Jenova are defeated."

This statement caused an uproar. Tifa and Barrett were the loudest, but nearly everyone was shouting back and forth over each other. It was Barrett who loudly boomed out the question "An' you think we gonna believe we can trust you?"

"Trust is relative. I will not lie, I suspect that Shinra may not survive the next few weeks anyway, but if it does then yes I will return to them afterwards, and will target you if ordered to do so. But, again, for now we have a common enemy and a more pressing concern." Tseng replied.

"Even if you're telling the truth, what about them?" Tifa demanded. "You think I'm gonna trust the men who killed everyone in Sector Seven?"

There was another outburst, Tifa and Reno shouting back and forth at each other. "Murderer!" Tifa accused.

"I was just followin' orders!"

"Unjust orders to kill innocent people!"

"It was a war!"

"Innocents!"

"I was just…"

"Women, children, old folks who'd never hurt anyone!"

"Tifa look, I was…"

"Little children walking to school when suddenly the sky fell in on them!" Tifa shouted. "Old married couples who'd been together for fifty or sixty years! Newborn babies!"

As Tifa piled on her assault, Reno surprised us all by suddenly exclaiming "I didn't know!" He slumped to the floor, head in his hands. "I didn't know. They lied to us okay!? They told us the civilians were all out, that it was just Avalanche members left in the sector! I didn't know…"

The room was deathly silent. Finally I said "That is possible. He may be telling the truth."

"He is." Tseng said. He looked at Tifa, then Barrett. "You can blame me. I knew, I was the one who lied to them. I've only just told them the truth today."

As Tseng said this, I reflected on how stressed, even wasted, all three of his subordinates had seemed when we first arrived. If Tseng was lying, I at least was fooled.

"So what do we do?" Aeris asked.

Tseng answered "We do not ask your trust, or your forgiveness. We deserve neither. But we are a resource that could aid in turning the tide. If you refuse us, we will find our own way of fighting to save Gaia, but a united front is more powerful… Let us help."

We withdrew into the next room, leaving the Turks in the kitchen. "What do you think?" Cloud asked us all.

"They seem sincere." Vincent answered.

"Yeah, I think so too." Aeris said.

"But even if they are, to have them around us…" Tifa argued.

"It don't sit right." Barrett said.

"Do we need to decide this now?" Cid wondered. "I need t' be getting to the launch pad."

"This is the final Huge Materia." Cloud mused. "Christian, you said we'd have a breather after this?"

"A bit of one." I answered. "I'm not sure how long it'll last."

"Then let's worry about the materia for now. We can figure out what to do with them later." Cloud decided.

"Alright then. Now let's get to the pad. I've got a date with the history books!" Cid said, laughing.


	12. Ground Control to Captain Cid

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Twelve: "Ground Control to Captain Cid"

OOOOOOO

As we were leaving Cid's home Tseng and the Turks moved to join us, but Cloud waved them off. "We'll discuss this more once the materia is secure. For now, if you're really sincere, you'll wait here."

"I don't like sittin' around yo."

"Nor do I." Tseng agreed with his underling. "I could order the launch crews to stand down. Even Palmer wouldn't oppose my authority in this type of case."

"That's no good though." Vincent said. "Whatever good you might do, it would be hampered if Shinra knew you were acting in this way."

"And besides," I said, glancing ahead towards Cid, "The Captain would have your skin if you stopped his dream now."

Tseng nodded reluctantly. As soon as we were outside, Barrett said "Someone should stay here, keep an eye on them. I'll do it, got no interest in rockets anyhow."

"I'll stay too." Yuffie said. Barrett swore but didn't argue with her.

Leaving them behind, the rest of us rushed to catch up with Cid, who hadn't even slowed down when the rest of us did. No one noticed Shera following a short way behind us…

OOOOOOO

We arrived to find the fueling trucks pulling away from the launch pad. We also found a large number of infantry troops standing guard. "What's our opening?" Tifa asked. "We've gotta get past them without risking damage to the rocket."

"Yes and no." Red mused. "Some of us have to get past them. Not all. Cid, how many crew can the rocket support?"

"She's built for five." Cid answered. "But with the weight of the Huge Materia aboard we'd probably better figure on just three to be safe."

"Okay then, Cid's one… Who else goes with him?" Aeris asked.

"Cloud." Vincent said. I nodded agreement but Tifa was unsure.

"Why Cloud?" She asked.

"It just feels right." Vincent said. "Besides, his strength might come in handy."

"If Cloud's going then so am I!" Tifa insisted, but disagreement came from a surprising source.

"Not 't argue Lass, but I expect I would be the best choice." Cait said.

"You?" Tifa asked. "Why?"

"Three reasons. First, if I leave Moggie here you'll have a secure contact with us. Second, I weigh less which helps the lift equation more. And third, I'm the smallest, should something happen that requires stuffing into a narrow space."

"Sound logic." Red said. "I concur."

"Now hold on, who said anyone was coming but me?" Cid demanded. "I'm the one with the dream 't be first in space!"

"You'll still be first Cid." I said. "I mean, your pilot's seat is further forward than the other seats, right? You'll be in space whole nanoseconds before they are."

Cid stared at me, looking angry, for several seconds before he started laughing. "Well damn, I guess that's true. Alright then, the rest of you distract the guards 'til we're aboard. Then run like hell, you don't wanna be anywhere around when the engines ignite…"

OOOOOOO

With Cait's moogle programed to follow us, Tifa led us in a wide arc, keeping under cover until we had gone perhaps a third of the way around the launch pad from where Cid, Cloud, and Cait were waiting. Once in position, we were ready to get the guard's attention, which was actually pretty easy, given that the men were all nervous and on-edge to begin with. Tifa ran out into the open, calling as if she were in danger. The guards immediately trained their weapons and ordered her to stop. "But you've gotta help me! There's something chasing me!" She exclaimed.

Then Red leapt into view and roared. The guards instantly changed their target to Red, allowing Tifa to get close enough to attack. Three men were on the ground before any of them realized what was happening, at which point both she and Red ran for it back into the surrounding underbrush.

The remaining guards gave chase, but were flustered when the rest of us also jumped up and ran in different directions. Unthinking, they broke into groups to pursue us, leaving number Twenty-Six unprotected…

OOOOOOO

===Begin Third-Person P.O.V: Cid===

As soon as the guards ran off, Cid was on the move as well. He led Cloud and Cait up the long winding stairway to the rocket's main hatch. Inside, he said "Cloud, help me out with this! We've gotta get the hatch perfectly sealed or the vacuum will kill us!" Cloud stepped in and together the two men shoved the hatch closed as hard as they could manage. Cid spun the lock control, then smiled when the seal indicator turned green. "There we go, alright let's get to the cockpit."

They climbed the narrow ladder up, and used handholds in the cockpit's 'floor', currently vertical for launch, until they reached their seats. Cloud helped Cait, who was having trouble securing his cat-sized body into belts meant for a human, then strapped himself in. "Are we good Cid?" Cloud asked.

"Everything's go! All positive indicator lights… I can't seem to deactivate the autopilot system though."

"That'll be Palmer's doing." Cait said. "Though you can't blame him, he expected this to be an unmanned launch."

"So we don't have control at all?" Cloud asked.

"It's fine, calm the hell down Cloud." Cid answered. "Look, we ride the thing up, grab the materia, and take the escape pod." Under his breath he muttered "Assuming they didn't take the pod out to reduce weight that is…"

Just then, the control panels lit up. Palmer's voice came over the speakers. "Oh hey hey! We're all good to go, so let's launch this baby people!" From far below, Cid heard the sound of the first-stage engines igniting.

"What!? No countdown!? Damned Palmer can't do anything right!"

With a sudden lurch the rocket engines throttled up to full power. Number Twenty-Six began to climb, clearing the launch gantry moments before the heat and thrust blasted the pad to dust. Climbing ever faster, she streaked into the heavens. Cid let out a mighty shout of joy as the sky ahead turned ever darker shades of blue, then purple, and finally black.

"I made it! I actually made it!" Cid exclaimed, laughing. "Outer space at last!"

A loud noise and shudder passed through the cockpit. "What was that?" Cloud asked.

"First stage separation." Cid answered. He released his restraints and floated up out of his chair, pushing off towards the control panels. "Let's see here… Okay boys, listen up. We have twenty minutes before the second-stage rockets ignite and sent Twenty-Six towards Meteor. We've got that long to secure the Materia and get outta here. Let's hurry, the Materia should be this way…"

OOOOOOO

===Resume First-Person P.O.V.===

After losing the guards pursuing us, everyone who had stayed on the ground returned to Cid's home. Stopping outside the door, Tifa looked up at the slowly dispersing column of rocket exhaust. "So, will they land near here or will we have to go pick them up somewhere?" She wondered.

"If they have any control over the escape pod Cid will probably get as close to here as he can manage." Vincent guessed. "But if not, they'll be able to contact us with their location once they're down."

"What if they splashdown in the ocean?" Aeris wondered.

I answered "If they can't control the descent, they probably will. More water than dry land after all, but if that's the case I'm sure the pod was designed to float."

"In any case, all we can do now is wait." Vincent said.

Stepping into the house, we immediately heard the sounds of Yuffie and Tseng from the next room. "Can I ask you a question?" Yuffie was saying.

"You may ask anything Princess." Tseng replied, "Though I may or may not answer."

"Cute. I guess what I wanna know is how you can claim to still have your Wutaiian honor when you went to work for our enemies."

Tseng sighed deeply before saying "Fair enough. You must understand that I went to work for Shinra before the war started. There was no 'conflict of interest' at the time. When hostilities did begin I was tempted to return home. But by then, my honor and loyalty were pledged. Would it not have been a greater dishonor in the eyes of the gods to turn my back on that?"

Yeah. I suppose it would have." Yuffie reluctantly agreed. "But to stay with them through so many wrong things…"

"For a long time I looked the other way. Comforted myself with all the money I was making, convinced myself that was all that mattered. And then one day the President himself called me in and assigned me to find and capture a new 'target of interest.' The last known surviving Cetra."

"Aeris." Yuffie whispered.

Nodding, Tseng continued "Locating her was remarkably easy. But once I did, once I saw that I was being sent after a child… I've never understood what I felt when I saw her, I couldn't do it."

Stepping into the room, Aeris said "You knew what Hojo would have done to me. Maybe it was more guilt than you could've handled."

"Perhaps so. Certainly the times that I came and tried to talk you into coming voluntarily weren't genuine. I knew you would refuse. I was counting on it."

"Hold on boss, why'd you go at all then?" Reno asked.

"Because it allowed me to report that I was still working on the situation."

"Huh!?" Reno responded, confused.

"Honesty is a big part of honor." Elena said. "By trying Tseng could be technically honest in those reports."

Barrett finally spoke up, voicing his mind: "Still don't see no honor in what you did to Corel."

"It was a military strike Mr. Wallace. Regardless of the outcome we did believe you were harboring terrorists."

Enraged at this answer, Barrett jumped at Tseng, grabbing the man and holding him down. "You killed my wife!" He shouted. Everyone rushed in to pull the two of them apart, but it proved nearly impossible. Even with Tifa, Vincent, and myself pulling at Barrett and the Turks trying hard to pull back Tseng from Barrett's grasp the giant man's grip held firm.

Then from behind I heard the sound of Aeris' voice as she cast a spell: Seal Evil. Everyone was struck with paralysis, unable to move or speak. She apologized to the rest of us for the effect then said "Barrett, listen to me. I understand that you're angry. I understand that you lost your wife. I've lost too. My Mother, my Father, Zach… Yet you don't see me blaming Tseng do you? I could've let him die at the Temple, but instead I did what I could to save him…" She walked to Barrett's side, put a hand on his shoulder. "There comes a time when you have to forgive. Not forget, that saying about forgive and forget is foolish, you never forget, it would be a tragedy if you did… "But you have to let it go, for yourself and for Marlene…"

Aeris stepped back and waited, and after a few minutes the effect wore off and we could all move again. Everyone on both sides watched Barrett closely, curious what he would do. After a moment, he released his grip on Tseng's shirt and stepped back. "Alright." Barrett said. "Not for me, but for Marlene. And for you Aeris… I'll do it, but don't expect me t' ever like it." He turned and walked away, out of the room and, a moment later, out of the house…

OOOOOOO

===Begin Third-Person P.O.V: Cid ===

Cid and his companions floated weightless in a circular chamber with the Huge Materia locked in an apparatus at the exact center. Looking down to examine things, he said "Looks like we need a combination code."

"You should know that code right?" Cloud asked. "This is your rocket after all."

"Maybe… The thing is, Palmer might've changed the code, and if the code we put in first is wrong the security system will arm. At that point we'd get just three minutes to find the right code before it locks up for good."

"Do we have a choice Lads?" Cait asked. "I'm watching the time on my internal chronometer, we've got less than fifteen minutes before the second-stage boosters fire."

"Right you are." Cid agreed. "It's caution to the damned wind time." He pushed in a four-digit combination, which served only to trigger the alarms. "Well hell… Cloud, you take a crack at it."

Cloud tried a number of combinations, none of which were successful.

With a minute-thirty left, Cait got an idea. "Lemme in there Laddie." He said. Moving next to the panel, Cait opened a port concealed in his fur and connected to the rocket's computer via a cable. "Reading the data… Decrypting… Alright, try to input Blue, Blue, Red, Green."

Cloud pushed the sequence in. The computer announced "Passcode successful. However, due to multiple failed attempts Materia chamber cannot be opened for one hour."

As Cid began to swear, Cait said he would try to change the time index in the computer's system. Cloud shoved the robo-cat aside and said "Sometimes the basic ways work best…" He drew his sword and smashed the case open.

"Ach… Never thought of that Lad." Cait said as the materia drifted into Clouds hand.

Cid said "Eleven minutes. Let's get the hell outta here."

Cid led the way towards the escape pod while Cait contacted us on the ground via Tifa's phone and let us know the materia was secure. Hearing this, I grabbed the phone and said "Cid, be careful of the oxygen tanks. One of them is defective."

"What'dya mean?" Cid shouted back. "These tanks are built to survive anything!" As he was speaking, he stopped, just in time to avoid the explosion. Cid was swearing again while Cait's phone filled the room with the sounds of everyone's voices from the ground, asking if everyone was okay.

"We're all fine!" Cait answered back. "Cid stopped just in time."

For his part, Cid stared at the hole where the tank had been. "I'll be damned. Tank eight, just like she thought… Hey, you on the ground, tell Shera she was right! And… Tell her… Tell her I'm sorry."

"You just told me yourself Captain." Shera said. Cid spun around in shock.

"Shera!? What the hell are you doin' here?"

"Making sure the escape pod was in working order." She answered. "I knew no one had checked it since the flight was supposed to be unmanned, and when you said you were coming, well…"

"Heh… That's good Shera… That's real good." Cid laughed.

The rest of the trip to the pod went without incident. Once aboard, Cloud sealed the hatch and they launched away from number Twenty-Six in a short burst of explosives. The pod drifted at first, until Cid used the control thrusters to orient them so that the window was looking out towards the rocket, and they watched until the second-stage boosters ignited and carried it away.

"Well, there she goes…" Cid said. "I'm gonna miss the ol' girl."

"Oh come on now Captain." Shera teased, "We both know you've got plans in your head for number Twenty-Seven already."

"Twenty-Seven, Twenty-Eight, and Twenty-Nine!" Cid agreed. "Oh, and Shera? Why don't you start calling me Cid instead of Captain all the time?" Shera smiled and nodded. "Good, now help me out here, we've gotta figure when 't fire the retrorockets for a safe landing site…"


	13. Return to Cosmo Canyon

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Thirteen: "Return to Cosmo Canyon"

OOOOOOO

Two hours after Aeris had calmed Barrett down Tifa's PHS phone rang again. "Teef, this is Cloud. We're on the surface, but Cid wasn't able to manage a safe landing near Rocket Town. We're gonna need a pick-up."

"We're on our way now." Tifa answered. "Where are you?"

"Floating in the ocean three hundred miles southeast of Kalm."

"Alright, we'll be there soon." Tifa hung up and looked at the rest of us. "Alright, let's move."

"Hold, for a moment." Vincent said. "We have an opportunity to handle two issues at once; Highwind will be flying past the Junon area anyway, in route to the landing site. We should land long enough for some of us to transfer to the submarine and recover the third Huge Materia while the rest proceed with the pick-up."

"But Cloud and Cid are both in the pod." Yuffie argued. "Who would pilot the thing?"

"Reno is trained in submarine control." Tseng said.

"Trained? I'm not just trained, yo. I graduated top in my class."

Everyone from Avalanche exchanged uncertain glances. Finally I said "Look, it seems like we're gonna have to give them a chance sooner or later. I'm good with it."

"You be one goin' with him too." Barrett said.

"I know, someone's gotta work the sonar controls."

Tifa said "How's this then? Christian, Aeris, and Vincent go with Reno. Take Tseng too. Red, Barrett, Yuffie and I will take Rude and Elena with us and collect our friends, then meet you back at the submarine dock…"

OOOOOOO

Several hours later, I stood next to Aeris on the upper hull of the submarine, watching as Highwind vanished over the horizon. "Is it surreal to you to be trusting Reno?" I asked.

"Reno yes. Tseng not so much… Certainly not how I expected things to go."

"Me either." I admitted.

Reno popped his head out of the hatch. "You two comin' yo?"

"Yeah, we're coming now." I said. We followed Reno inside and sealed the hatch, then joined the rest of our team on the sub's bridge, where Reno was already activating the engines and moving out. Tseng was seated at the weapons control panel, and both of them were under sharp observation from Vincent.

"Alright, what's our target coordinates?" Reno asked as I settled into the sonar control seat.

"Cid programmed the coordinates of the wreck into the system before we left." I said. Consulting the tattered manual I pressed several keys and an indicator appeared on the forward screen. "That way."

"So, how exactly are we going to get the materia out of the wreck?" Aeris asked.

Tseng answered "R.O.V.'s. We'll direct them from here through remote cameras and control systems, guide them into the ruined sub through whatever opening is available. Or fire up the cutting torches and make our own opening if needed."

"Hey yo, so what're we doin' with these materia once we've got them all?" Reno asked.

"Taking them somewhere safe." I answered.

"No specifics on that eh?"

"Not for you just yet."

Reno started to complain but Tseng cut him off. "Now is not the time to argue."

"Just as well yo. We're almost there."

We settled into position over the wreckage and Reno triggered the R.O.V.s. The main control screen changed to a pair of camera views, descending to the bottom. Reno guided them around until he found an opening near the sub's midpoint and guided one inside while leaving the other outside. "Emergency back-up?" Aeris asked.

"Yeah. We only got the two an' you never know what might happen in there."

The camera feed from the inside of the sub was grainy and unclear. Reno moved slowly, searching, he said, for some kind of indicator of precisely where inside the sub his remote was. Once oriented in that way, finding the cargo chamber would be easy. The trouble was, the poor image quality made locating any kind of signposts very difficult. After some time, Vincent suddenly said "Stop. There, on the left wall, upper quadrant. Writing."

I didn't see anything, but Aeris and Tseng both looked closer. "Yeah, I kinda see something." She said. 'I can't make it out though."

"It reads 'Auxiliary Ballast Control: Starboard.'" Vincent said.

"That's good yo!" Reno said. "I know the way to the cargo hold from there." And indeed he did. Once he knew the right way to go, he found the Huge Materia in less than ten minutes.

Controlling the remote's arms, Reno gathered up the Materia then turned the remote and started retracing his course back out.

"That wasn't so hard!" Aeris said.

"No…" I agreed. "Reno, how long 'til the remotes are back aboard?"

"Ten minutes. Then we're outta here in a hurry!"

"Well, don't go too fast, there's still a Weapon roaming around down here."

"Heh… Yeah, no point in getting' killed in the home stretch…"

OOOOOOO

===Begin Third-Person P.O.V: Tifa===

Tifa stood as far forward as she could get on the Highwind's bridge, watching the water pass by below and scanning the horizon for any sign of the escape pod. Cid's second-in command approached her. "Miss Lockhart? We're almost over the target coordinates. You should be seeing something any time now."

"Thank you." Tifa replied, then resumed her watch. On her instructions, Red and Barrett were watching from the ship's port side and Yuffie and the Turks from the starboard. All were watching both the water below for the pod itself as well as the sky for any sign of signal flares.

Tifa dialed Cloud's phone. "Can you see us yet?" She asked when he answered.

"Hang on, lemme look." Tifa listened to the sounds of Cloud climbing out of the pod, then "I think maybe… I might be seeing you right on the horizon to the north. It's just a speck though."

"Turn south!" Tifa ordered the crew. She held onto the railing before her as the ship banked to the right and headed south. "Send up a flare Cloud." Tifa said. Moments later she saw a bright point of light shoot high into the sky, almost directly ahead. "We've got them!" Tifa shouted.

Another five minutes bought the Highwind over Cid's escape pod. Cid, Cait, and Shera had joined Cloud on top of the pod. Highwind descended low over the ocean before extending the gangway for the new astronauts to climb aboard.

Tifa greeted Cloud with a hug while Cait happily climbed back aboard his moogle. "So this is the Highwind." Shera said. "It's as grand as you've always bragged on it as being Cid!"

"You know it! Hell, you didn't think I'd put my name on something that wasn't did you?" Cid laughed. "Hey Shera, you wanna stay aboard? This place could always use a top-class engineer."

"I'll stay as long as you do." Shera smiled.

Stepping back from Tifa Cloud said "Great. Now let's gather up the rest of our team and head for… …Where are we going next?"

"Christian said something about Cosmo Canyon and Grandfather I believe." Red answered.

"Good enough for me."

OOOOOOO

===Resume First-Person P.O.V.===

Given the rough nature of the terrain it proved impossible to land the Highwind anywhere near Cosmo Canyon itself. We ultimately had to land nearly ten miles away, at the place where the desert canyon territory began to give way to the gentle grasslands south of Nibelhiem. We walked the rest of the way in, taking turns carrying the Huge Materia. Each was sealed in a box to hide it's brilliant glow. When we reached the town We were greeted by a different guard from the one who had been on duty during our first visit. "Nanaki! Welcome home!" the man exclaimed.

Red nodded his head. "Greetings to you as well Traven. We're here to see Grandfather. Is he still well?"

"You know it." Traven replied. His gaze shifted to Cloud, Cid, Rude, and Vincent who were each carrying one of the Huge Materia. "Not to be a bother Nanaki, but I am on guard duty here… What's that your friends are carrying?"

"Special materia that need to be hidden." Red answered truthfully.

"Alright. If I can't trust you who can I trust?" Traven waved us by. We followed the winding path through the settlement and up to Bugenhagen's observatory. Aeris knocked at the door and the elder answered quickly.

"Oh-ho! Look who we have here! Come in, come in!" Bugen led us into his living room, expressing interest as Cloud explained the Huge Materia situation to him. "Well now, let me see…" he opened the box Cloud held and peered in. "Incredible! A little bright though. Come. We'll store them in the observatory, then return here to discuss what you might do next…"

OOOOOOO

A short time later we were crowded into Bugen's living room again. Aeris and I sat on a wide sofa with Vincent in the third seat. Cloud and Tifa sat on a smaller sofa across from us. Tseng used the lone chair and Yuffie sat atop an end table. Red sat on the floor between the two sofas and everyone else stood around the walls or leaned on the back of the sofas.

Cloud looked at me. "What's next?" he asked.

"In the unaltered timeline, Aeris didn't tell you what she was doing at Knowlespole, didn't tell you about Holy. With her gone, you would have had to go through a complex series of events to learn the truth, including taking Elder Bugen to Knowlespole and searching the seafloor for a key to activate some old Cetra machinery… Obviously none of that is necessary now, so we're kind of wide open until Diamond Weapon tries to attack Midgar."

"And how long do we have before that attack comes?" Tseng asked.

"I have no idea." I admitted. "Though… We've got what, ten weeks 'til Meteor hits?"

"Nine weeks, five days." Red answered.

"I think we have at least several days, maybe even a few weeks." I said. "There's actually a lot we can do in that time, but we need to prioritize the most important ones first in case we run out of time. Once Diamond Weapon makes it's move we'll be constantly busy until this is all over."

Confused, Shera asked "What is all this about? You talk like you know the future…"

"I'll explain it all later Shera." Cid said.

"Have you any advice for us grandfather?" Red asked Bugenhagen.

"Let us begin with the list of options for what we might do." Bugen said.

I shook my head, trying to put things in a logical order. "Okay… first, scattered around the world are four extremely powerful materia we want to get ahold of, including the most potent summoning materia of all. They're hidden in caves that contain natural Mako springs. Second, Cloud, we need to get you back into Dio's Battle Arena again. There's a manual on an insanely powerful sword technique up for grabs. Third, Vincent needs to visit Lucrecia, and we should take the sub down to a crashed Gelnika on the seafloor, there's some really, really useful stuff in it's cargo hold. If we can manage it, we should take on Obsidian Weapon again once we get all that stuff… and…" I paused, unsure if I should continue.

"And what?" Yuffie asked. "Spill it!"

"Yes indeed, please continue." Bugen said.

"Alright… Red, I wasn't sure if I should say anything to you or not but… I have reason to believe that there is at least one more member of your species still alive. A female."

Red jumped to his feet, stared at me with his good eye. "Truly? But how can this be? What evidence do you have?"

"The final scene at the end of the game… It's like a 'distant finale' five hundred years in the future. It shows you with a pair of cubs."

"Oh ho ho! Great grandchildren for me, eh Nanaki?" Bugen teased

"Unfortunately, I have no idea where to even begin looking." I said. "Sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for." Red said. "And besides, I might have a thought."

"Good. Now how do we prioritize?" Cloud asked.

"Apologies, but if there is a chance that another of my kind is out there, I must attempt to search for them, at least for a time." Red said. "I will rejoin you for end of course."

"I understand Red." Cloud said. "But we're not letting you go alone."

Aeris said "He won't have to. I'll go along, and I'm sure Christian will as well."

"Of course." I agreed.

"That's good." Cloud said. Though, before you go I want Christian to mark the location of those materia caves on a map. That way Cid can take the Highwind around to gather them up while the rest of us are busy."

"Can do." Cid agreed.

"Teef, take Vincent, Barrett, and a couple of the Turks. Check out the Gelnika and this cave Vincent needs to see." Tifa and Vincent nodded, and I promised to fill them in before we left Cosmo Canyon. "I'll go to the Gold Saucer and try for that manual." Cloud finished.

"Can I come with you Cloud?" Yuffie asked.

"Sure, no problem."

"And so then, once all these missions are finished we'll regather on the Highwind and proceed from there, right?" Tifa asked.

"Exactly."

Bugen clapped his hands together. "Excellent! Now, as it sounds like there's no reason to rush, I invite all of you to stay the night in town before continuing on your mission…"


	14. Ganthet's Tale

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Fourteen: "Ganthet's Tale"

OOOOOOO

Author's Note: Just a heads up that the references to characters from other Final Fantasy games in this chapter are foreshadowing of future stories. They won't be showing up in this story, or influencing the outcome of it. (Well, a minor character from FF6 will appear in one chapter, but it makes sense in context and was just too funny to leave out once I thought of it.) Also, the 'Necron' mentioned here is a version of the DC Comics Green Lantern villain Necron, not the 'Necrophobe' from FF9.

OOOOOOO

Shortly after sunset Aeris and I joined Cloud and Tifa who were already sitting near the Cosmo Candle. At first no one spoke, and it was nice to just enjoy the calm and quiet of Cosmo Canyon at night. After a while, Red also joined us. "Busy times are coming." He finally said. "Though, perhaps happy times as well."

"I just hope you aren't _too_ psyched up." I said. "Red, don't forget, I cannot say for sure that there are others like you out there, just that there might be."

Nodding, Red answered "I understand. And I am attempting to remain calm, though I must admit it is a great challenge."

"No one blames you for that Red. We just don't want to see you be hurt if this doesn't work out the way we're all hoping." Aeris said.

"Aer's right Red." Tifa said. "We've all suffered so much since everything started falling apart…"

"I thank you for your concern. But as I said, I cannot help but be excited and hopeful. And, also as I said earlier, I do have some idea of where to start looking."

I glanced over to where Red was seated. "And where might that be?" I asked. "And, why haven't you already searched there if you had hopes for it?"

"In point of fact, I was on my way to search when I was captured by Shinra. As for the where, well, some distance to the east of the canyon is the largest tract of undisturbed forest left anywhere on Gaia, a vast rolling terrain of verdant green from one horizon to another. Gongaga lies to it's southeast, beyond the range of high mountains we had to drive the buggy around on your first journey here." Red said. He continued "It was the territory that my mother's family called home before they came to this place. Of course, that migration took place many thousands of years ago. But if there are still members of my species living anywhere on Gaia, the forest is where they will be."

"It sounds like a beautiful place." Tifa said.

"Maybe too beautiful…" Cloud added. "Red, if this forest is so incredible why is it still untouched? All that life means tons of Mako, strange that Shinra hasn't torn it all down and put in a reactor."

"Yes… I am hoping that it is the continued presence of my kind, protecting the forest from invaders, that has prevented that outcome. We will see soon."

Looking around, Aeris asked "Say, where is everyone else anyway?"

"Back at the Highwind already I think." Cloud answered. "Sleeping there to get a quicker start come morning."

"Shouldn't we join them then?" I asked.

From behind, I heard a familiar voice. "Indeed you should. But we should talk first."

I turned, slowly standing as I did so. "Ganthet." I said. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Even for an immortal with all of time at his disposal, protecting the entire multiverse is a daunting task." Ganthet answered. "I've been busy. And so have you. But no matter, thus far all has worked out according to plan. I see you are well after all…" He glanced at Aeris "And you as well Daughter of Ifalna."

"This is the guy who sent you here?" Tifa asked from behind me. "I thought the 'blue midget' thing was a metaphor or something."

"I truly wish you wouldn't use the term 'midget.'" Ganthet sighed. "I am well within the normal height range for my people."

"I call them like I see them." I answered. "But, if you've shown up now there must be a reason…"

"A valid conjecture." Red agreed.

"Yes… Perhaps we should sit, this will take some time." I grudgingly agreed, and once everyone was again seated, Ganthet as well though he still floated a few inches off of the ground, he began: "The first thing you must be aware of is that the complexities of time and dimensional travel mean that though it has been only a few months for you since we last met, I have experienced a much longer span of time. Several centuries, in point of fact. This time has not been wasted, however, as I have learned much of value." He looked to me and said "You recall what I have already told you of Jenova and the threat to multiple worlds?"

I started to answer, but Cloud said "Hang on, let me, I wanna see if I've got this straight." I nodded and he said "Jenova goes around destroying worlds. Ganthet looked at the future and saw that stopping her and Sephiroth now wasn't enough. She would just survive and destroy Gaia later. So he sent Christian here to change the future and save Aeris in order to give us a chance to stop Jenova for good. Is that right so far?"

"Perfectly." Ganthet replied.

"Then I'm still confused." Aeris said. "Your council told me that Jenova had to be forced to leave Gaia…"

"Yes. Unlike the manner of travelling between realities which I use, Jenova's method is inefficient. It consumes tremendous amounts of power, so much so that that ordinarily the entity will attempt a transit only when she is flush with power from the recent destruction of a world. Aeris' survival presents Jenova with an untenable situation. She cannot simply 'ride out' Holy and strike at Gaia again later. She must leave, as any further attempts on the planet with a surviving Cetra will end with Holy being summoned again."

I asked "So, what… We chase her off to some other poor planet? What about them?"

"I assume we pursue." Red offered.

"Very good." Ganthet confirmed. "Jenova shouldn't have a chance to inflict more than minimal damage to each new world before being forced to flee again. After a few of these forced transits the entity will be weak enough to deal with permanently."

Cloud said "But surely Jenova will see that outcome coming. What about it's reaction?"

"And what about the other thing you told me?" Aeris added, "That some other force was at work against you?"

"To answer your question Mr. Strife, that will need to be played as it lies. And Aeris' concerns are my main reason for coming to you now. I've learned more of the nature of our opposition. Their leader is an entity known as Necron. This Necron was once a mindless force of nature which has at some point become sapient. It sees itself as the personification of entropy, and it's goal is to promote destruction, death, and decay."

"Is Jenova somehow in league with this Necron?" Red asked.

Ganthet shook his head. "No. Necron seems content to manipulate Jenova and Sephiroth unawares for now. I expect that even it sees Jenova's power level as dangerous, though useful. That said, Necron is not acting alone. It may not have openly enlisted Jenova, but just as I recruited wizards and wise men from many worlds to create Tempus, so Necron has taken followers from many worlds, promising them power in exchange for service."

"So, is Necron how Sephiroth found out I was still alive?" Aeris asked.

"Yes, that is correct."

"Okay, back up for a second." I said. "Who exactly is working for this Necron?"

"Multitudes." Ganthet said, "Most of which you would not know. Among those you would recognize include Lady Lillith, the Sorceress Ultimacia, Zemus, Garland, Kefka Palazzo…"

I swore. Loudly. "We're screwed." I said. "That's all there is to this. Look, Ganthet, just… At least tell me Kuja's not a part of this." Ganthet's silence said it all. I swore again, even louder.

"Take heart." Ganthet said. "Remember we, too, will gather more allies to face the darkness."

"You at least have a plan, right?" I asked.

Ganthet scoffed. "Of course I have a plan. A plan decades in the making, all of which will be revealed in due course."

"Perhaps the question to ask, then is this:" Red began, "If Jenova is to flee from Gaia then Christian's knowledge of how these events will end is now invalid. How, then, should we proceed?"

"Continue as you plan for now." Ganthet said, "But be ready for the unexpected when you are ready to approach the Northern Crater. And…" Here Ganthet looked me straight in the eyes "…Remember how the Dragoon Kain's story turned out." With that, Ganthet vanished in a surge of green and blue light.

We were silent again for some time after Ganthet departed, each of us thinking on what he had said. It was Cloud who finally asked "Who were those people Ganthet said you would recognize?"

"Lilith, Ultimacia, Zemus, Garland, Kefka…" Red quoted.

"Essentially they're their own world's equivalents of Sephiroth. Powerful beings who tried to destroy and/or remake their entire worlds at the expense of everyone else." I replied.

Red asked "And the last name? The one you mentioned, Kuja?"

I said "Genome Kuja… Basically, think Sephiroth if Sephiroth were in touch with his feminine side."

There was a long silence at this before Tifa said "That… Is the most terrifying thing I've ever heard anyone say."

"Tell me about it."

"What about the other thing?" Cloud asked, "Dragon Kain?"

I chuckled. "Not dragon, dragoon. Two o's. In his world, Kain was a friend of a man named Cecil. The two started the journey to save their world together before Kain vanished and later returned working for the bad guys. But it turned out he wasn't really a traitor, he had been brainwashed and programed with powerful magic. When the man responsible for brainwashing him was beaten, Kain returned to normal and became a big part of stopping the main villain."

"Why would Ganthet make a point of that to you?" Aeris wondered.

"Good question."

"Could it have something to do with the Turks apparently helping us now?" Tifa wondered.

"Maybe… I dunno, that doesn't feel right." I said.

Aeris agreed. "Yeah, this is something else."

"Let's just keep it in mind until something comes up." Cloud said.

"Agreed." Red answered. "And now, it's quite late. We should return to the airship and rest…"


	15. Ancient Arbors

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Fifteen: "Ancient Arbors"

OOOOOOO

Aeris, Red, and myself stood waiting just inside the main doors of the Highwind as the airship descended towards the ground far below. As we waited, the doors opened and the gangway began to automatically lower. Beyond, we could see a vast sea of verdant green, the unbroken canopy of the ancient forest. "I don't see a clearing anywhere…" Aeris said. "Where are they gonna drop us off?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe we'll have to climb down a tree." I answered.

"I hope not."

Red chuckled. "As do I. Tree climbing is best left for those with hands."

"At least we'd be going down, that'd have to be easier for you than up." I answered.

"Yes… Until the time came to leave."

"Ahh, we can handle it." Aeris said. "We got you on a chocobo didn't we?"

"You stuffed me into an empty satchel."

"Don't pout. It worked."

Red didn't see fit to answer. A moment later the sound of the airship's engines changed as they switched from descend to hover. "I guess this is as low as Cid's going. Now what?" I wondered.

Aeris shrugged. "Good question. We're still too high up to even reach a treetop."

As we wondered what we were supposed to do, the view began to shift. I realized the Highwind was rotating, and after several seconds the reason why became obvious: A tall metal tower, like an open scaffold at the top but enclosed below, came into view. It was clearly old, covered in rust and plant growth but still serviceable. A badly obscured Shinra corporate logo was affixed to the side closest to us. As the airship stopped turning our gangway came up perfectly level with a balcony near the top of the tower, just below the logo. An open door led inside.

"That's… convenient." I said.

"Why is this here?" Red wondered. "I didn't think that Shinra had ever came here."

"They came, but it looks like they didn't stay…" Aeris said. "But, that's a good sign Red, isn't it?"

"Yeah," I agreed. "With as much mako as there's gotta be in a place like this there's no way they just left on their own. Something must've made them leave. Maybe it was more of your people."

"Then let us begin our search." Red agreed.

As we started towards the door Cid's voice boomed out behind us. "Hold on a sec!" He shouted. We turned as he jogged up. "We'll be back here to pick you up in one week."

"A short time to search such a large forest." Red said. "But understandable under the circumstances."

"If you don't find anything I'll bring you back once everything else is taken care of." Cid promised. "Now get movin', time's short…"

OOOOOOO

We watched from the top-most floor of the tower as the Highwind dwindled from sight over the horizon, then climbed down to ground level. As it had appeared from the outside the building was still intact and useable, the rust still superficial. "In a wet rainforest climate like this, rust will spread quickly." I said. "This place can't have been abandoned for more than ten or twelve years."

"I'm still wondering what happened." Aeris said. "It's not like Shinra to give up on anything… For that matter, it's not like them to hide expeditions either, coming here should've been all over the news when they started."

At the bottom floor we encountered our first obstacle: The only exit door was locked, barred, chained, welded shut around the perimeter, and every heavy object on the floor was shoved in front of it. "What the…?" Aeris wondered.

"Clearly they were besieged." Red answered. "By something incredibly powerful."

"At least whatever it was never got in… Unless it climbed up and came in up top. But, no, there'd be bodies if that were the case."

"Yes. We must now ask ourselves, however, if continuing is advisable with the potential for such a powerful threat." Red said.

I grabbed a filing cabinet and started pulling it away from the door. "We've come this far for you. It'd be a shame to not at least look. Besides, maybe it was your people they were keeping out."

"Unlikely. An entire pack would not require this much security to restrain. We will look, but let us not remove a barrier that could save our lives. Instead we will find another way out."

"What do you have in mind?" Aeris asked.

"Nothing yet. Let us see what we can find."

We explored throughout the tower for nearly two hours before finding what we were looking for. Hidden away in a storage closet was a long stretch of heavy rope ladder, still undecayed due to the sealed package it was in. "What are you thinking?" I asked Red.

"We can attach the top of this to the ledge we came in through." He explained. "You can climb down, and attach the bottom to the ground at an angle shallow enough for me to climb down. Then, if we must retreat back here the top can be cut to prevent anything else from using it."

"Works for me." I said. Setting up the ladder was easy work, and in less than twenty minutes all three of us were outside on the ground. We gazed around for danger, but saw nothing but the trees and undergrowth.

"This is unnerving." Aeris whispered. "Anything could be close and we'd never know."

"Stay close." I whispered back, and drew my sword just in case…

OOOOOOO

===Begin Third-Person P.O.V: Cloud===

Several hours after dropping us off at the ancient forest, Cid and his crew landed the Highwind just south of Corel. Cloud and Yuffie were waiting to disembark, and as the gangway lowered Tifa came to say goodbye to Cloud. "You be careful now." She said to him. "Remember what Dio put you through in that arena last time."

"I think that was special circumstances." Cloud answered. "It should be a little easier this time."

"I should hope so."

"Aw don't worry Teef! Cloud'll be alright! He's got me with him!" Yuffie exclaimed.

Rolling her eyes, Tifa replied "Be still my heart."

As Yuffie began to rage at the insult, Cloud calmly walked away. "Come on Yuffie! They've gotta go!"

Yuffie complained about Tifa's attitude towards her the entire time they were walking towards Corel. As they reached the town itself, though, the girl's attitude changed. She looked around at the ruins and the destitute people. "Isn't there anything anyone could do?" She asked.

"Maybe once Shinra's out of the way there'll be a chance." Cloud said. He was silent for a moment then added "I'm surprised you even noticed though."

"What!? C'mon Cloud I'm not totally self-absorbed you know!"

"You aren't?"

"Ohh! No! Of course not! "

"Could've fooled me. You know Yuffie, maybe if you want Teef and the others to stop making fun of you then you should try to show this side of yourself more."

"And ruin my reputation?" Yuffie complained.

"Nevermind… So, you didn't tell me before, why did you want to come back here?"

"Oh, you know, the usual… Fun and games! Rest and relaxation! This place is awesome!"

Cloud shook his head. "Oh well," he thought, "She is still young." But in the back of his mind he wondered about her answer. He had a strange feeling the little ninja was hiding something…

OOOOOOO

===Resume First-Person P.O.V.===

As we made our way through the dense jungles we came under frequent attack from it's native creatures. Some were merely variants of creatures familiar to us; others were bizarre entities unlike anything I had ever seen before, and in two cases we were accosted by what I swear were Final Fantasy eleven Vana'dielian robber crabs. We did our best to fight quietly, hoping to avoid drawing the attention of whatever the Shinra people had been barricading themselves against, and Aeris noted early on that our opponents seemed to be staying unusually quiet as well, as if they too were fearful.

After several hours we stopped to rest during a lull in combat. Red provided water from his supply stash, which we all drank quickly. The hot humid jungle weighs down on you very fast. After catching his breath, Red whispered "I'm wondering… Should we continue on, or make a loop around and return to the tower?"

"It would make a good base of operations." I said. "Though, at this point, we're not making it back there before nightfall."

"I wish we'd turned back sooner if we were going to." Aeris said.

"Me too."

Red gazed around at the jungle. "I suppose we should stay here for the night… Though, I could wish I was able to climb the trees."

"Yeah. It'd be safer up there." Aeris said. "Look, we can get you up there somehow Red. In fact I think we'll have to. As thick as the dangerous creatures are around here, there's no way we'd get any sleep on the ground anyway."

"This is true." Red agreed.

Aeris looked around for a moment, then asked "Christian, do you think we could get to the top of that one?" She pointed to a large tree the trunk of which was a good twenty feet in diameter. The bark was thick, but there were protrusions that looked like good hand and foot holds.

"I can try." I answered. I handed off my satchel to her and started climbing. The first few feet were the hardest, afterwards the holds were firmer and it didn't take long for me to reach the lowest branches which were perhaps thirty feet up. As quietly as I could and still be heard on the ground, I asked "Now what? You can make it too, but Red…"

Aeris looked at Red and said to him "I'm sorry, but we're going to have to use that chocobo satchel trick again, haul you up to safety that way."

"Very well… Though if any of my people are here I sincerely hope they don't witness this indignity…"

Aer's plan was simple. She threw the rope up to me, which took several tries, then tied the bottom end of the rope through the loops at the mouth of a spare satchel. Red climbed into the satchel, then after she had also climbed up and joined me we pulled our companion up with the rope.

As the sun was just dipping to the western horizon we were all in place, and we carefully moved along the branches to the tree trunk and found a spot where two large branches had first grown out next to each other then thickened until they were in direct contact. This created a secure place to sleep without fear of falling to the ground if someone rolled over wrong.

"It's so quiet." Aeris commented.

"Yeah." I agreed. A jungle like this should have been a ruckus of loud noises, with creatures calling to each other and competing for attention. Instead, nothing was making the slightest sound.

"There is definitely something very wrong in this place." Red whispered. "I now suspect that our mystery threat does not truly belong here. If it did, if it had been here all along, the native wildlife would have adapted to it's presence and would not be so intimidated."

"But what could it be?" I wondered.

"Unfortunately, I expect we will find out before this is over."

"Then we'd better get rested." I said…

OOOOOOO

===Begin Third-Person P.O.V: Cid===

After seeing Tifa's team off at the submarine, Cid returned to the airship's bridge. "Alright you guys, let's get moving all damned ready!" He shouted as he entered the room. Crewmen snapped into action and he felt the vibrations of the engines powering up.

"Where to Captain?"

"Well, let's see… We've got four stops to make, all over the damned world. I wonder if it makes more sense to do the closest ones first, or go to the furthest and make our way back one at a time?" He glanced up from his maps. "Shera, what'dya you think?"

Surprised but grateful to be asked, she suggested "Why not just make it a round the world trip?"

"That's not bad… We could hit this one east of Mideel first, then the island, Wutai, and Corel last. Hell, that way we could even see if Cloud and the brat are ready while we're at Corel, before we come back here."

Cid gave the orders to head for Mideel, then returned to his maps. As he did so Tseng and Elena also examined the them. "What island?" Elena asked. "I mean look, there's nothing on the charts north of the Goblin Archipelago."

"Don't mean nothin' though." Cid answered. No one ever goes up that way, there's no reason, so a small enough island could've been missed even today."

"Is it worth the time for a mere possibility though?"

"What time? We'll lose half a day tops, no one else will be ready for pickup sooner anyway. It's worth it. Especially if this materia is a powerful as it's supposed to be."

"The Captain is correct Elena." Tseng said. "We will soon face an enemy that obliterated the Cetra. Maximum firepower is called for."

"Damned straight." Cid agreed…


	16. Omnislash: It Slices, It Dices

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Sixteen: "Omnislash: It Slices, It Dices"

OOOOOOO

===Begin Third-Person P.O.V: Cloud===

Cloud approached the Battle Arena with trepidation. Not that he was nervous about the challenge ahead of him, but he did remember what Dio had put him through the last time he was here. He sighed. At least Yuffie had wandered off on her own so he wasn't having to put up with her non-stop stream of blithering.

At the main entrance he paid his entry fee. "Available prizes are right over there sir!" the clerk said, pointing to a niche room off to the right, flanked by a pair of guards. "Feel free to check them out, decide what you'd like to get. We'll call your name when it's your turn in the arena."

Cloud thanked her and walked over to see for himself. Inside, he found a series of three glass cases, each with a different item enclosed within. He also found Dio. The large man turned. "Well well! Back for more are you? I knew you would be sooner or later!"

"Well, I've heard you have something I want to win."

"Indeed? Well, here they are. One Double-Summoning Materia, one Omnislash technique manual, and best of all one scale-model statue of yours truly."

"That's the manual then?" Cloud asked, leaning in to get a closer look.

Seemingly hurt by Cloud not being overjoyed at the prospect of the stupid statue, Dio said "Anyway, they're first come first serve to whoever accrues sixty-four thousand battle points first."

Cloud looked at Dio, confused. "No one said anything about point the last time I was here…"

"That fight was a special case, is why. It's simple enough though. Each time you fight, you gain points. The further you get through a series of fights, the more points, but even more important, the worse your handicaps each round the more points too."

"Sounds fair."

"I agree! Of course, no one can possibly earn the full score in a single battle. And you can't leave. If you do, any unused points go 'poof' and you're back where you started."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Can't leave? How long does this usually take though?"

Dio laughed. "A few have done it in a day. Most need three or four. There is a place in the Square to rest between matches."

Cloud sighed, now wishing Yuffie hadn't wandered off. He wasn't sure how much damage the ninja could do on her own in the space of a single day, but even odds were that it was substantial…

OOOOOOO

===Begin Third-Person P.O.V: Yuffie===

Yuffie watched quietly as Cloud and Dio discussed the rules of the Battle Arena. She was stuffed into a ventilation duct small enough that even she had a hard time fitting, looking down from ceiling-level. She tried to pay attention to what the men were saying, but she kept focusing instead on the beautiful chunk of materia under it's glass case. "That little gem's gotta be worth a king's ransom." She thought.

After awhile, Cloud left the room while Dio stayed, alone. He flexed and preened and fawned over the little statue of himself. Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Come on you icky freak!" She thought, "Leave already!" She was growing nervous, wanting to be done before Cloud's name was called so that he could see her in the stands, watching his battle. No sense in letting him be suspicious of what she was up to, after all.

Eventually Dio did leave. The room was empty, and Yuffie eased open the grates over the duct and climbed out, leaping lightly down to the floor. Standing before the case containing the materia, she examined the glass, trying to determine what kind of security systems might be set up on it. Surely there were alarms, after all. Yet she couldn't see any sign of them at all. Crouching down the ninja examined the bottom of the table the case was atop, but saw that the base wasn't thick enough to house a pressure sensor.

"Is it possible…?" Yuffie wondered. "Is Dio so self-assured that he didn't put in any security at all besides the guards on the door?" Just then, a voice came over the loudspeakers, calling Cloud in for his turn in the arena. "Gotta risk it." She decided. She then extracted a kit of tools from a pocket and went to work on the case. The materia was in her hands in less than a minute, and ten seconds later the room was empty once again…

OOOOOOO

===Resume First-Person P.O.V.===

We awoke early in the morning, still secure in the branches of a tree. Red produced ration bars from his supplies and we ate while discussing our next move in quiet whispers. "We should probably just keep on in a straight line." Aeris said. "Bumbling around at random's just asking for trouble."

"Straight, but slow…" Red concurred. "The trouble with this jungle is that it is so dense that we could pass within inches of something interesting and never know it was there. Indeed, who knows what we may have missed already?"

"True." Aeris agreed. She glanced over at me. "This place wasn't in your game, was it?"

"Well… There was a place called the 'Ancient Forest…' It was even in the same general area of the world as this… But, I've not really seen anything here that matches up with what it was like."

"Interesting." Red mused. We ate in silence for awhile longer, before Red asked "Do you hear that?"

I heard nothing. Neither did Aeris. "What does it sound like?" She asked.

"A rumbling. Distant, perhaps, but moving this way."

Still hearing nothing, I closed my eyes and focused on listening. At first I heard nothing at all, but then the sound, low but growing, came to me. "What is that?"

Opening my eyes, I saw that Aeris had also closed hers to listen as well. She looked in the direction the sound was coming from. "It sounds massive…" she whispered. "Our mystery threat?"

"A fair assumption." Red answered.

As we waited, the sound grew louder and louder, closer and closer. Below it, we began to hear the lesser sounds of creatures crying out in fear and fleeing before the source of the rumble. We all hoped that we were perhaps high enough in the tree to avoid detection if whatever it was passed directly beneath us. Aeris and I both drew our weapons, and Aer cast protective spells in preparation. She looked over and gave me a small smile. "Just in case." She whispered.

The sound grew louder, and as it did so I was able to identify parts of it's make-up. The rumble was a mixture of the snapping of branches and even whole tree trunks as the mystery entity moved through the forest. I guessed it had to be at least the size of an elephant, yet oddly there were no distinct sound of footfalls, and no vibrations passing through the ground from them. I wondered if the creature was flying, but that didn't make any sense either; if it could fly it would have gotten into the tower.

Our luck held out. Whatever it was, the creature didn't come any closer to us than perhaps two hundred feet, passing by to our north, heading eastward, and now moving away. As the rumble subsided, I glanced down at Red and saw that his ears were held high and a look of concentration was etched into his face. Once the creature was beyond hearing range I asked him what was up.

"You didn't hear it, then? Underneath the louder rumbling sound?" He asked.

Aeris and I looked at each other then back to Red, and we both shrugged. "Sorry, but I didn't hear anything but the rumble and some animals running from it."

"Same here." Aeris confirmed. "What did you hear?"

"Perhaps nothing. I might have been hearing things, it didn't make any sense, really…"

"What didn't?"

"There was a voice. Talking, to the creature I assume. It was cheering the creature on, encouraging it's destruction, but in a very strange dialect and accent…"

"Maybe our monster is under someone's control then?" Aeris wondered.

"Possible." I said. "You know, it's a really stupid thing to do, but I want a look at the trail of destruction it left behind." Red and Aeris both agreed, and we prepared to get moving again…

OOOOOOO

===Begin Third-Person P.O.V: Cloud===

Cloud stepped into the ring and gazed up at the cheering crowds. Given the intensity of the cheers, he suspected many of these people had been there during his previous round in the arena, and he wondered just how they managed a living if they spent all of their time here. After all, it had been more than seven months ago. As he scanned the crowd, he caught sight of Yuffie stepping into the front row from behind. At least she was here and not off causing trouble.

Shaking his head, clearing his mind to better focus, he looked towards the gate where his opponents would be released. The crowd grew quiet as the doors opened and a quartet of Courels rushed towards Cloud, snarling. He grinned. This was going to be fun.

OOOOOOO

As Cloud had expected, this new round of battles was much easier than the thrashing Dio had subjected him to his first time in the arena. After the Courels, the second round involved Zemzelet Birds, and then a single Sandworm. All went down easily. The fourth round was the first real challenge, and that was only due to the handicap slots sticking him with Green Materia Broken. The actual fight went smoothly; A pair of Custom Sweepers that crumbled under a single Climhazard blast.

In fifth place, Cloud faced a Chimerea. The creature surprised him leaping higher into the air than he realized it could, then dived down rapidly, trying to land directly on top of him. He dropped and rolled to the side, but didn't quite manage to get out of the way. His right leg was caught and severely damaged. Staring up at the creature looming over him, Cloud knocked it back away from himself with a blast of Aeroga, then used White Wind to repair the damage to his leg while the monster was sprawled on it's back trying to turn back over.

On his feet again, Cloud winced. The leg was whole but the pain would take several minutes to fade. No time to concentrate on that though, the chimerea was back on it's feet as well. Cloud dropped into his combat-ready stance and faced off against the creature. It attempted the flying leap attack again, but he was ready for that this time. As the monster dived down towards him he threw his sword upwards. Momentums combined and the blade tore through, felling the monster in a single blow. Satisfied, Cloud caught the falling sword and turned towards the doors to face his next challenge.

The gates opened as the slots spun. Round six consisted of a meager poisoning handicap and a group of five Bull Motors. Cloud smirked at first, surprised that such weak foes were worthy of round six. He learned quickly that though they were weak individually, a force of five constantly firing off laser attacks were a genuine threat. While he still made quick work of them, he was extremely weak once it was over.

Round seven's opening gave Cloud a challenge: The foes were only a moderate danger in and of themselves, two Ice Wolves and a Stilva. Unfortunately, after the previous round Cloud had been relying on healing himself with White Wind, only for the slots to land on All Materia Broken. Cursing under his breath, Cloud used an X-Potion and leapt to the attack.

As round eight opened, even Cloud was beginning to perspire heavily. This place was no pushover even when Dio played fair. Happily, the slots didn't hamper him anymore, a good thing since his new opponent was a Molbor. The plant-thing moved slowly, but reached out for Cloud with fast and agile tendrils. Cloud hacked and slashed his way through, but ever more kept coming. He was snared, and pulled into the monster's mouth. The cheering crowd grew quiet, thinking that their champion had been beaten. Then with a horrid sound of ripping and tearing Cloud tore his way out, sword spinning, killing the beast in the process.

Cloud stood over the dead molbor, dripping with slime, hoping he never had to do that again. As the crowd cheered louder than before, a voice came over the loudspeakers. "Ladies and gentlemen! Our champion! Now stick around folks, 'cause the next challenger will be here as soon as we get this mess cleaned up!"

Cloud exited the arena and checked in with the attendant. "You earned twenty-seven thousand five hundred Battle Points sir!" She explained. "Quite good for a single run-through."

Cloud smiled to himself. At that rate he'd be able to afford the manual after two more rounds. "Sign me up to go again." He said.

"Right away sir."

"How long will I have to wait?"

"Hmmm… Let's see here… At least two hours sir. And maybe as much as four, depending on how far each competitor makes it."

"Good… So, does the resting area have showers?"

The attendant looked up, saw for the first time how messy Cloud was. "Oh dear. I guess you really do need a bath don't you sir?" She pointed down a back hallway. "Beds and showers are that way. Food service too."

"Thank you." Cloud headed towards the rest area, hoping Yuffie was behaving herself…


	17. A Deeper Mystery

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Seventeen: "A Deeper Mystery"

OOOOOOO

Moving slowly, quietly, Aeris, Red, and I made our way to the place where the unknown creature had crashed it's way through the forests. We arrived to find a gaping tunnel in the foliage, trees smashed to the ground, branches broken from the lower reaches of trees to the sides of the path, total carnage. I decided that my earlier estimate had been wrong. Whatever did this was far larger than an elephant, perhaps as big as four or five of them.

To either side the path was 'walled' by surviving trees and other greenery, the upper branches of which, apparently higher than our mystery foe's head, formed a curving roof to the path. The floor of the path, though…

"Take a look at this…" Red said. "Except where trees and branches fell, the underbrush is undamaged. No plants pushed over, or trampled… No footprints crushed into them… It is as if whatever did this was somehow hovering rather than walking."

"I noticed the same thing."

"But what kind of animal could do that?" Aeris wondered. "It couldn't be a bird, there's not enough room for the wings on a bird that would be big enough to do this kind of damage."

"And bomb-creatures float but do not grow this large…" Red added.

I said "Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way. Maybe what made this tunnel isn't what attacked that Shinra tower. Is it possible that Shinra's back with some kind of hovering machine?"

"You mean like a logging machine?" Aeris asked.

I nodded. "That, or a war machine they think can handle the real monster."

"Plausible theories." Red mused. "Either way, perhaps we should follow this path for now. With all the noise whatever it was made, we will hear it coming in time to hide if it turns back. I for one want to see what we're dealing with."

We agreed, and started in the direction that the creature, or machine, had been moving…

OOOOOOO

We followed the path for several hours. In that time, we found nothing of interest save for the detail that the forest's native creatures were apparently so terrified of whatever this thing was that they wouldn't come anywhere near the path it had left behind, making our journey quicker than it would have been otherwise. Wherever the monster itself had gone, we didn't hear any sign of it.

Eventually, we came to something unexpected: The path abruptly ended in a wall of undisturbed vegetation. We stopped and stared. "What the…?" I wondered.

"Most unusual." Red concurred.

Looking up, noting that the roof of the tunnel was unbroken even here, Aeris said "It can't have gone up, either…"

"This doesn't make any sense at all." I said. "But, I guess the only thing to do is continue on…" I stepped forward and pushed through the greenery. Aeris and Red followed.

We didn't go much further before Red stopped and said "Wait… I smell something…" He searched around for a moment before calling for us to join him. "Here! Look at this!"

Joining Red, standing by his side in a small clearing, we found the decayed remains of a years-ago battle: Three human skeletons lay on the ground. Rifles were gripped in the skeletal hands of two, and a sword lay next to the third body. The gun-wielding bodies wore the last remaining vestiges of Shinra infantry uniforms. The fabric of the third body's uniform was entirely decayed and gone, but the shoulder pauldron of a Soldier was on the ground next to it.

What really mattered though, was the fourth skeleton: It was unmistakably that of a member of Red's species. "Are we too late?" Red whispered.

"Don't start thinking negative." Aeris advised.

"At least we know they were still here as of a few years ago now, that improves the odds of survivors to this day, doesn't it?" I asked.

"He's right." Aeris said. "We're on the right track."

Red nodded. "Thank you for the encouragement… I wonder though, if there are still others alive, why these remains were not interred properly."

"Maybe they never found the body."

"Red? Before we go, is there anything you'd like to do? How do your people lay their dead to rest?" Aeris asked.

"Obviously we cannot dig well enough to bury them." He answered. "Ordinarily, the body is oriented facing east, covered with flowers, and burned. Any belongings, such as hairpins and other ornamentation, are then passed on to the nearest relative."

"We could do that." I said. "It doesn't seem right to just leave things here after all."

"Thank you." Red said, and we set to work…

OOOOOOO

===Begin Third-Party P.O.V: Vincent===

Reno was annoying. That was all Vincent could think about after six hours cramped in a submarine with the man. Reno was very, very, VERY annoying. "How long until we surface?" He asked.

"Ten minutes less than the last time you asked yo." Reno answered.

"Do not presume to make light of my concerns."

"I'm not man! I'm not!" Reno said. "But this tunnel winds and curves all over the place! If it was a straight shot to the lake we've gotta surface in we'd be there already, but as it is… I dunno. Hell, for all I know we might find a dead end, this not even be the right tunnel."

"Stay calm Vincent." Tifa whispered over his shoulder. "We'll get there."

"It is not the wait that upsets me." He whispered back. "It is the company."

Tifa rolled her eyes, but couldn't say that she disagreed.

Trying to distract himself from Reno's personality, Vincent allowed himself to think back on his time with Lucrestia. He remembered the good times together, the last time he had seen her, and what a fool he considered himself for being so naïve as to think that he could have saved her. Then again, he also felt like a fool for thinking much the same thing now. Lost in his musings, Vincent nearly missed it when, perhaps twenty minutes later, Reno said "Heads up yo! I think we're here."

"You are certain?"

"Checkin' now… Yeah, uplooking sonar shows a clear path to the surface. Heading up now…"

As Reno worked the controls, Vincent stepped outside the control room and motioned for Tifa to join him. "Is there any way to make Reno remain here?" He asked.

"Shouldn't be hard." Tifa answered. "Barrett or I can keep him and Tseng busy."

"Good. Given the choice, I would prefer to do this alone."

"Are you sure you don't want one of us along?"

"Thank you, but yes, I am certain."

"Alright then." Tifa smiled. "Good luck Vincent."

Alone, Vincent made his way to the hatch and waited for the indicator lights to turn green. Once they did he opened the hatch and looked outside. The lake was wide and roughly circular, ringed by a narrow area of grass and high rugged mountains. The cave was just close enough to be in sight. Vincent pulled himself up out the hatch and started walking. No animals were in sight, and no monsters appeared to accost him. The walk took less than ten minutes.

Standing before the cave entrance, Vincent sighed. He honestly wasn't sure what he was going to do. He knew, from what I had previously told him, that lying would be catastrophic. But what effect would the truth have? There was no way to know for sure. Honestly, he had no idea what he should do, how to proceed. But there was no time to wait; the world itself was still in the balance, after all. He sighed again and stepped forward.

Inside the cavern, the temperature dropped nearly twenty degrees and the air was humid. The rock walls were of granite, but infused with a type of shimmering blue crystals that glowed faintly. As with the outdoors around the lake there were no monsters here, though Vincent's description of how far he walked suggests that the cave was much, much larger than the simple small room depicted in the game. In time, he noticed that the glow from the crystals was getting brighter ahead. Picking up his pace, Vincent rounded one last curve and found a wide circular room, with an tremendously large crystal descending from the ceiling…

OOOOOOO

Near dark, Tifa came looking for Vincent, and found him sitting at the water's edge just outside the cave. He looked up as she approached. "I asked to do this alone." He said.

"I was worried." Tifa answered. She sat down next to him. "How did it go?"

"She wasn't there."

"What!?" But Christian said…"

"He wasn't wrong exactly. She had been there. Recently. I found the room he spoke of, and the crystal. Within it was a hollow cavity, perfectly sized and shaped to fit Lucrestia's body. But the hollow was empty. I smashed it open… Foolish, I suppose. I was angry. But afterwards I could tell, I could smell, that it had indeed been Lucrestia. She hasn't been gone for very long, either… Three months, four at the most."

"What could have happened?" Tifa wondered.

"We have a mystery." Vincent concurred. "Consider: The crystal was intact when I found it. The hollow which contained Lucrestia hermetically sealed. Yet she was not there. The only possibility is that she was removed by some form of teleportation… But why?"

"Why… And by whom?" Tifa said.

"Precisely."

"I hope you're not angry with Christian…"

"No. He could not have known, and he was technically correct about Lucrestia being here."

"You need company right now." Tifa said, "But I suppose you prefer to be alone instead?"

"Yes."

Standing, Tifa said "Alright… We're waiting 'til morning at this point before we leave."

"I'll be there before dawn…"

OOOOOOO

===Resume First-Person P.O.V.===

We burned the remains we had found, after preparing them according to the customs of Red's people. I was concerned about the fire spreading, but fortunately it turned out that the jungle's humidity was so high, it's foliage so wet, that there was little risk of that. Aeris found a hairpin similar to the ones Red wore in his mane near the body and showed it to him.

"You said belongings are given to the nearest relative." She said. "Maybe you should keep this for when we find others."

"Yes. That would be for the best." Red agreed.

As Aeris attached the pin to Red's mane, I said "The fire's dying down. We should move on soon."

"Yeah." Aeris said. "Here though, let's make sure the fire is all the way out…" She cast water on the remaining embers, extinguishing them.

We walked on for several hours. It was late afternoon when we entered a wide clearing. Unlike the area cleared by out mystery monster, this place was clean, the undergrowth removed down to the soil. A circle of stones stacked three high was centered in the clearing, with a firepit at it's center. Bags and satchels made of animal hides and filled with various supplies, mostly foodstuffs as far as I could tell, were stacked just outside the stone circle across from us.

As we stepped in closer, I could see a rough bed made of straw and leaves inside the circle, up against the stones. "Someone is living here." I whispered.

"Yes. But who could it be?" Red wondered.

From behind us, a female voice answered "That would be me."

We turned. Standing just inside the clearing was a member of Red's species. As the quality of the voice indicated, this was a female, slightly smaller than Red, with light tan hair, a thicker, longer mane than Red's, and armor similar to gauntlets on each leg just above the feet.

Red was stunned silent. So was I. Aeris was able to ask "Who are you? Is this your home?"

"My name is Denah." The newcomer answered. "Though, given that you are the intruders here I should be the one asking who you are…"She extended the claws in her feet. "And for your sake I hope I like the answer…"


	18. Non-Sequiter

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Eighteen: "Non-Sequiter"

OOOOOOO

Author's Note: A few chapters back I mentioned in another author's note that there would be a single-chapter cameo by a final fantasy six character. Well, here we go: I suppose I maybe shouldn't have done this, but once the idea occurred to me it was just too funny to skip…

OOOOOOO

I wasn't sure how to answer Denah's challenge. Given her silence, neither was Aeris, and Red was still too deeply in shock to say anything at all. He was just staring at her. As luck would have it, that reaction turned out to be our salvation. "Is there something wrong with him?" she asked, staring right back at Red.

"He, um…" I paused, trying to word things right. "This is Nanaki, from Cosmo Canyon. We came here hoping to find others of your species…"

"And he could not have bought companions of our kind, instead of humans?"

"I'm afraid not. See, Nanaki is the last survivor of the Cosmo Canyon tribe… Which is why he's reacting this way. You, you're the first other of your kind he's seen since his parents died, almost forty years ago."

"Another tribe lost…" Denah whispered softly. "Forty years, you say? Why, this one cannot be much older than that."

"No. I am not." Red finally found his voice. "Then again, you cannot be much older than I yourself."

"Quite." Denah stared at Aeris and I again. "Unusual company you keep."

"That is the second time you have insulted my friends. Why this hostility towards humans? Is it because of whatever Shinra did here? We found their abandoned tower."

"Evil creatures." Denah hissed. "They destroyed the Cetra, your tribe, and then they tried to destroy us as well. It is a mix of blessing and curse that the destroyer came. It also threatens us, but not deliberately and at least it got rid of the humans."

"The destroyer?" I started to ask, but Red spoke first:

"Your information is in error." He explained. "My tribe dwindled away from natural causes over many centuries… And it was the undead Gi who killed my parents… And as for the Cetra, not humans but an otherworldly entity attacked them. And they are not quite dead, Aeris here is half-Cetra."

"Truly?" Denah eyed Aeris with what seemed like a new appreciation. "Very well then, but it leaves the human's guilt for what they did to this forest when they came."

"We aren't all like that." I said. "Some of us are fighting to preserve the planet and it's life. You've seen the meteor in the sky, right? It's going to hit the planet in a few weeks. Everything will die, if we don't stop it. And we will."

Sighing, Denah said "We knew the sign in the sky was an ill omen."

"We?" Red's head perked up. "There are still others?"

Denah chuckled, the first sign of a happier side to her personality. "Oh yes my friend. There are several thousand of us still, scattered in tribes all through the forest."

Red let out a triumphant howl, and Aeris and I laughed. "Congratulations my friend." Aeris said. "You're not alone."

"I never was, with all of you. But this is a happy time nonetheless."

"I suppose I should welcome you as guests, then." Denah said. "Come, we shall dine together and talk more…"

OOOOOOO

Over the course of several hours, we related our tale to Denah, and in turn she told us of the history of her tribe. The most important information, though, was in regards to our mystery monster. Her tribe had no more of an idea of what it was than we did, they simply called it the destroyer.

"What does it look like?" Red asked.

"Difficult to say precisely." Denah answered. "Few who are close enough to see it survive. Those who do give muddled reports."

I said "Anything at all might be helpful."

Denah nodded. "Well… It seems to be incredibly large. Bright red skin, vaguely triangular… There are reports of a hideously distorted face covering the entire front of the creature's body. Possibly short stubby arms. It seems to prefer the use of aero-type magic and attacks, as well."

There was something vaguely familiar about that description, though I couldn't put my finger on it. Aeris asked "We followed one of it's paths, but the path just stopped with no way it could have gotten out…?"

"Yes. It does that regularly. We have no explanation either."

"And this thing has been showing up for ten years?" I asked.

"Off and on. It's first appearance was twelve years ago. It then vanished for two years before appearing and attacking the tower. Since then, it has appeared nine, seven, and four years ago, for a few weeks or months each time, and finally it returned again last month."

"Strange…" Red mused.

"Totally." I agreed.

"There is one other thing…" Denah said. "Though none have seen anything, there have been many reports of a voice, a strange voice speaking to the creature."

"Yes!" Red exclaimed. "Christian and Aeris were unable to hear it, but I caught a hint of the voice as it passed by our camp!"

"In any case, this talk is intriguing but ultimately pointless." Denah insisted. "No one here is strong enough to face the destroyer and survive. Let us rest for the night, and tomorrow I will guide you to my tribe's nearest encampment…

OOOOOOO

I had been concerned about sleeping on the ground in this forest, but Denah assured us it was safe. "Repellants all around the border of the clearing." She explained. We accepted this and went to sleep, but some hours later I was awoken by Red. Denah was already awake as well, and was waking Aeris. A short distance away, just beyond the stacks of supplies, was a clattering noise, and the sound of an odd voice talking to itself in a strange accent.

"What the hell?" I whispered.

Red whispered back "It is the voice I heard before."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's see what this is about."

"Carefully." Denah whispered. "Two of us around the supplies on either side…"

We carefully crept around, and when the time felt right jumped out to confront the intruder. None of us were prepared for what we found: Going through the stored food was a large, bright purple, octopus. I recognized it immediately. "Ultros!?" I exclaimed.

"Ya hoid a' me?" the creature responded. "Er… I mean, of course ya hoid a' me! Who ain't hoid o' da great Octopus King Ultros?"

"King? More like loser."

"You know this creature?" Denah asked, shocked.

"You said nothing about a talking octopus." Red agreed.

I shook my head. "That's because I wasn't expecting him. Ultros here doesn't belong in this world any more than I do."

"Well, dat's true enough! And if youse knows dat, den you must be da ones I'm here ta take care of."

"Take care of?" Aeris asked.

"Cut the crap, how did you get here from your own world?" I demanded.

"Kinda da same ways youse did, I'd wager." Ultros answered. "My boss sents me. Big guy, name a' Necron. Da boss saids dat if I got's rid o' youse I'd gets a reward. So's I guess it's time ta kill youse all."

"Oh please." Denah said. "You aren't even in your native habitat, the nearest ocean is hundreds of miles from here. You can't fight us and win."

"You're more right than you know." I said. "As I said before, this guy is rather pathetic."

"He looks rather tasty, actually. I've always wanted to try calamari." Denah said.

As Denah was speaking, I was thinking. There was something very familiar about this. Some way that all of this fit together… Ultros said "Well, maybe I am a little on da weak side. But, it's not me youse gots t' worry abouts…"

I raced to put the pieces together… Ultros was here. A mystery monster was here. This was the ancient forest, different than in the game, but the ancient forest nonetheless. And what did players find in the ancient forest? Then I knew. "Aw hell…" I muttered.

"What's wrong?" Aeris asked me.

As she was asking, Ultros said what I now knew was coming. He held two tentacles around his mouth, like a human cupping hands around their mouth, and loudly shouted "Oh Mister Chupon! Come out and play-ay!"

"Crap." I said. Glanced around at everyone else. "Um… …Run."

OOOOOOO

We ran headlong through the jungle, and as we went I tried, through my exhaustion, to explain what I had realized. "The destroyer?" Denah scoffed. "That thing cannot be the destroyer."

"I don't think that's what he's saying!" Aeris answered her. "He's saying that Ultros is the voice that's been heard talking to the destroyer."

"Exactly."

Red snorted. "I find it ridiculous that the creature everything here fears has a name like "Mister Chupon." Are you quite certain of this Christian?" Even as he asked, a great roar arose behind us, followed by the sound of trees being crushed and swept aside as the creature gave pursuit, growing louder as it was moving faster than we could. "Then again, I could perhaps be in error."

"It's gaining on us!" Denah shouted. "What can we do?"

"We've got to try to make it back to the tower!" Aeris said. "Chupon couldn't get in before, it stands to reason he won't be able to now either!"

"We'll be trapped!" Denah argued.

"Have you a better idea?" Red asked. She didn't, and we continued to run as Chupon grew ever closer.

"Christian, this Ultros, do you know him from another game?"

"Game?" Denah asked, confused.

"I'll explain later Denah, Aer, yeah."

"Okay, how did the people in that world beat Chupon?" Aeris asked.

"They didn't."

"Not good..."

"Tell me about it…"

OOOOOOO

We arrived at the tower just ahead of Chupon. Red and Denah raced up the angled rope ladder first, followed by Aeris and I. As we reached the top I looked back and saw Chupon already at the base of the ladder, trying to climb it up to us. As I jumped onto the ledge, Red used his claws to cut the ropes, stranding Chupon at ground level.

"That is one ugly beast." I said. Chupon roared and flailed and glared up at us but couldn't get to us. "So, now what?"

"I think we were hoping you had a plan." Aeris said.

"If nothing else, we could wait for Cid to return." Red suggested. "Maybe the Highwind's weapons can destroy it."

"If we have to, that'll work. But I'd prefer not to be under siege for a week."

"I'm with you on that." Aeris said. "Take some time, think about what you know about Ultros and Chupon."

"It's actually Typhon." I said. "Chupon, and the 'mister' part, are Ultros' mispronunciation. That's how I realized what the destroyer had to be even before Ultros called him. In the game players find a red materia for Typhon in this… forest…" I paused, thinking.

"What?" Aeris asked. "What are you thinking?"

"I've got it. Typhon is summoned. It's how the paths he leaves just stop with no exit: So, if we could separate Typhon from Ultros and take out Ultros, Typhon should just vanish."

"A tricky proposal." Denah said. "But I am willing to take part. That said, I have questions. Ultros said he was sent here to kill you. Yet if he is the one summoning Typhon then he has been coming here for twelve years. How? And why?"

"Ultros said he was working for Necron. Was that not the name of the being Ganthet mentioned?" Red asked me.

"Yeah, it was." Aeris confirmed.

"I also wonder why Necron would send a chump like Ultros if guys like Kuja and Zemus are working for him too… It doesn't add up."

"Let us worry about that later." Red advised. "For now, how do we distract Typhon?"

"You said it correctly." Denah answered. "We… You and I, provide the distraction while Christian and Aeris deal with the octopus. It is the best way, we can run much faster than they."

"Then let's do it." I said.

Red and Denah slipped to the far side of the tower, out of Typhon's line of sight, and leapt to a nearby tree. From there, they carefully climbed to the ground. As they got into position Aeris and I returned to the storage room where we had found the first rope ladder and searched, finding a replacement.

Returning to the top of the tower, I signaled to Red, and waited. At the ground Typhon continued to flail angrily against the tower, trying to gain entrance but failing to penetrate the barricades left behind by Shinra's employees.

As we watched, Red and Denah emerged from the cover of the jungle, as far from Typhon as they could be and still be seen by him. They glanced at each other, then loudly howled, getting the monster's attention. Seeing, Typhon made a horrible screeching cry then moved to pursue them. As soon as it was out of sight, Aeris and I let down the new ladder and climbed to the ground.

"Do we go back down the path?" Aeris asked, "Or wait here? I assume Ultros will be coming this way."

"Probably, unless he got too busy eating Denah's food."

From a distance down the path cam the sound of Ultros talking to himself.

"You called it. Here he comes." I said. I drew Desperado and activated it's blade. Aeris also readied her own weapon.

"Does he always talk to himself like this?" She asked.

"Dunno, but he never stops talking around others for sure."

"You realize that even with my life, this is the strangest thing I've ever seen."

"You said it."

We looked up as Ultros entered the clearing. "Dis place agains? What is it you gots wit dis place Chupon?" He said looking at the tower. Then he saw the two of us. And our drawn weapons. "Mister Chupon! A little help here!" He exclaimed.

"Sorry octo-puss. Chupon is otherwise engaged." I said. I ran forwards and slashed with my sword. Ultros dodged back and nearly evaded, though I managed to damage two of his tentacles.

"Yeeouch!" Ultros screeched. He attempted to defend himself with a counterattack, wrapping a tentacle around my right leg, tripping me. I slashed again as I fell, then jumped back as I heard Aeris casting Thundara.

Lightning surged down from the sky, striking Ultros squarely on the head. He yelped again then shouted "Dat's how youse wants it den? Fine!" He started casting Waterga. A flood of water materialized, washing over us, but it was surprisingly weak for the spell in question. We were both able to stand our ground.

"You weren't kidding!" Aeris said. "There's not much to this guy!"

"Yeah, but let's finish this quick, before Red and Denah tire."

"Right. I wanna try something new." Aeris held her staff in the casting position and focused on the white materia in it's slot. Minerva had told her that this staff could channel it's power into weaker, combat useable spells. It was time to test that ability. Drawing power from the materia, Aeris cast a spell called Aurora. The light-elemental magic surged around Ultros, who tried futilely to brush it away.

"Yow!" He shouted. "Yow! Dat burns!" He stumbled away from us, and as he went he began shouting loudly "Hey Boss! Necron! Get me outta here boss!"

Nothing happened. Ultros grew more desperate, saying "Alright boss, look! I know I gets under you nerves sometimes! But I'm still loyals to ya! An' besides, didn't youse say dat I hads t' go back t' my own worlds? Something I hads t' do for youse dere?" A swirling blue portal opened, identical to the one Aeris and I had used to move between Earth and Gaia. Ultros jumped in and vanished.

"Well, that should be that." I said.

"Yeah." Aeris agreed. She then looked at me, one eyebrow lifted, and said "'Octo-puss'?

Seriously?"

I shook my head. "Sorry. Couldn't resist."

OOOOOOO

Red and Denah returned to camp ten minutes later. "I presume you were successful. Typhon vanished suddenly in mid-pursuit. We found this on the ground." He revealed a red materia.

"As expected." I said. "Hide this. We don't want Yuffie getting ahold of it and summoning that guy back."

"Good thinking." Red agreed.

"Thank you for your help." Aeris said to Denah.

"I suppose I should thank you." Denah replied. "The destroyer is gone now."

"So what do we do now?" I asked. "We've still got five days before Cid comes back for us."

Denah said "Tonight we camp here, and tomorrow I take you to the village…"


	19. Ruin

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Nineteen: "Ruin"

OOOOOOO

===Begin Third-Person P.O.V: Cloud===

Cloud sighed as he stepped away from the registration counter. He had just completed his third full round in the arena, and checked on the number of battle points he had saved up. Sixty-three thousand nine hundred ninety seven. Three points short of the price for his prize. Three stinking little points. He wouldn't have been surprised to learn that Dio had engineered this somehow, perhaps by tampering with the scoring system, just to make sure his biggest draw had to stay for a whole 'nother round of fighting.

Seeking to kill time while waiting for his final round of fights, Cloud wandered around the Arena lobby. Nearing the prize chamber, he saw that something was wrong: Dio was there with several members of the Saucer's security force. Yellow security tape stretched across the door. "I'd better check this out." Cloud thought. So he walked over and got Dio's attention. "Something going on?"

"Oh it's terrible!" Dio answered. "Come, look!" The man led Cloud past the tape and into the prize room. The glass case which had held the Double-Summon Materia was empty. A hole had been expertly cut into the glass, with the round glass that had been cut away lying neatly atop the case. "Can you believe this?" Dio asked. "Robbery! Thieves, brigands, here!"

Immediately suspicious, Cloud asked "Did anyone see who did it?"

"I'm afraid not. Both guards assigned to the door and the security cameras confirm no one came or went. Apparently the thief used the ventilation ducts… I told the architects from day one that they didn't need to be big enough for people, but would they listen to me?"

"I'd try to help out, but I can't leave the arena." Cloud said. He pointed to the Omnislash manual. "I really need that, and I'm three lousy points short."

"I'll tell you what my boy… I'll make an exception to the usual rules. You can help find the thief, and your battle points will still be there when you come back!"

"Because it's not like you could just forget the three points." Cloud thought to himself. "Ah well, it is Dio after all… That's the best I could ever expect…" He said "I'll see what I can do."

"Excellent my boy, excellent!" Dio slapped Cloud on the back. "Let me know when you have good news!"

OOOOOOO

===Begin Third-Person P.O.V: Tifa===

The submarine shuddered as Reno docked with the ruins of the crashed Gelnika. A trio of indicator lights above the control panel all turned green. "Positive lock." Reno said. "We got equal pressure on both sides of the airlock yo. We're good to go."

Everyone followed Tifa as she led the way to the airlock. Once there, she said "Okay: According to Christian there's some really good supplies in the cargo bay. Be ready to fight though… There's supposed to be some really strong creatures too."

With that, Vincent opened the hatch and they stepped through into the Gelnika. "Looks like we're near the front of the plane." He said. "We'll need to head aft to find the cargo hold."

No sooner had Vincent opened the first inner door then they came under attack. Three bizarre creatures lunged from out of the shadows, snapping and snarling. Tifa ducked under the first one, then rose back to her feet as it passed over her and pummeled it mercilessly with a flurry of blows. Reno, who that one seemed to have chosen as it's target, joined in with his mag-rod, which did little more than annoy it.

Vincent was forced to handle the second beast alone. He ran, leading it into a blind corridor with no one else in sight. Once there, he opened up with his gun, firing as quickly as possible. Five shots struck directly in the monster's head, but it kept coming, barely even slowed down. Seeing little choice, he fled again.

Working together, Tseng and Barrett led the third back the way they had came from. Barrett ran through the door just ahead of Tseng who stepped to the side. As it started through the door, Tseng pressed the emergency close button, trapping it in the doorframe. He then ran out of the line of fire, allowing Barrett to open up with his gun-arm. Shell after shell slammed through the creature's body, but as Vincent had discovered these monsters were exceptionally rugged. It writhed and thrashed, unable to free itself but not dying either.

OOOOOOO

Reno yelped as he barely avoided a bite on the arm. "Yo Teef! This ain't workin'!" He shouted.

"Tell me about it!" She answered back. "Any suggestions?"

"Juss that we could use more help!"

Tifa slammed a right hook into the creature's back as hard as she could. "I don't think that's happening Reno, they're busy too!"

"Then I think we're screwed!" Reno answered. He narrowly avoided another attack. "Don't you got any materia yo?"

"Libra says magic won't work on this thing!"

Reno swore. "This one no, but maybe the others? They was different! Let's lose this guy and go help Vincent!"

Tifa nodded and unleashed the limit attack she had been holding back on. The monster roared and turned to face her. She ran into a series of narrow corridors, hoping to lose the beast without getting lost herself. "Hey yo! Wait up!" Reno shouted, and ran to follow.

OOOOOOO

Barrett stopped firing, and stared at the trapped monster. "Damn. That was a full clip an' it's still kickin'. What's it take to kill this thing?"

Tseng pulled out a Libra materia. "Strong to physical damage." He said… "No kidding there… Hmmm… Weak to Ice. Do we have a Blizzard Materia?"

"Not on me." Barrett replied. "But…" He knelt down and rifled through his satchel. "We found this materia in Mideel, supposed to have some high-level spells on it… Lessee, yeah, here it is…" He held up the materia. "Contain… Oh yeah, it can cast Freeze."

What are you waiting for then?" Tseng asked. "Try it out!"

Barrett stood, thinking. He still hated this man for Corel. But, there were bigger issues at stake here and now… he knew what he needed to do, what was the right thing to do, though it tore him up to do so… He tossed the materia to Tseng. "You're a stronger caster than I am."

"Thank you." Tseng said, regarding Barrett with surprise. He slotted the materia into his weapon and began casting. The powerful spell took time to cast, but once it was ready A massive block of ice condensed around the monster's body, freezing it solid. The creature howled in rage, and though it survived it was clearly weakened.

"Aw hell yeah!" Barrett shouted. "Do that again!"

Tseng nodded. "Once more should do it." He began casting again…

OOOOOOO

Vincent ran through the aisles with his pursuer close behind. He considered transforming, but thought better of it; in enclosed spaces like this, with the weight of three thousand feet of water pressing in from outside and the others to worry about, he didn't dare risk losing control.

And so he ran, hoping to find a place where the monster couldn't follow, or perhaps a weapon that could hurt it. Then, as he turned a corner he found himself running directly towards Tifa who had her own monster in tow. From behind the monster came the sound of Reno shouting. Thinking quickly, Vincent grabbed Tifa and threw both of them through a side door, which he then slammed shut. From outside the door came the sounds of the monsters trying to break in, but the door was thick steel, well barricaded, and they were unable to get through.

"I'm glad I ran into you!" Tifa said to Vincent. "But what about Reno!?"

"What about me, yo?" Reno asked. Tifa and Vincent turned from the door to see Reno standing behind them.

"But… You were behind the creature that was chasing me!" Tifa exclaimed. "How did you…"

Reno shuddered. "You don't want me to answer that question."

Tifa eyed Reno warily for a moment, then said "Whatever. Let's see what we can find and get out of here….

OOOOOOO

===Begin Third-Person P.O.V: Cloud===

Cloud moved with purpose through the Gold Saucer, looking for Yuffie. The thief had to be her, there was simply no question of it. He decided to check out the materia store in the saucer's mall. Maybe she had robbed them too, he thought. But when he arrived there and spoke with the clerk, he got a huge surprise: "No sir, nothing's happened here." She said. "It's been business as usual."

"Hmmph." Cloud mumbled.

"Well, actually there was one funny thing earlier…" The clerk said. She pulled out a locked case and sat in on the counter. "A woman came in and sold us this." She opened the case, revealing the stolen materia.

Cloud was in shock. Yuffie selling a materia? It was totally out of character. "I guess money matters to her too. How much did she get for it?"

"Well, we were willing to pay eight hundred thousand. She didn't actually take it in cash though, had us transfer the funds to the park's restaurants and clothing stores."

"You don't say?" Cloud asked. An idea was forming in his mind. It seemed so unlikely, given it was Yuffie, but then again… He turned to leave, saying "You'd better call Dio. That materia is stolen…"

OOOOOOO

===Begin Third-Person P.O.V: Tifa===

Tifa, Vincent, and Rude explored the cargo hold for several hours. Eventually they were joined by Barrett and Tseng who had managed to defeat the monster blocking their path. "Found anything good?" Barrett asked.

"A little bit." Tifa answered. "Mostly it's just junk ruined in the crash, but we've found a ton of those Shinra source drinks, and a weapon Yuffie might like."

"Found this too, yo." Reno said, holding up a red materia.

Vincent stepped closer to Reno, leaned in and examined the materia. "Can you sense what it summons?"

"No. Weird huh?"

"Perhaps… I wouldn't use this… There's a feel about it…"

"A feel like what?" Tseng asked.

"Something… wrong…"

"Well that tells us a lot." Barrett said.

"I'm sorry that I cannot be more specific. Nevertheless, what I say is true."

"Let's just keep looking." Tifa said. "I wanna finish up and get out of here."

They began searching, but moments later a howling sound reached their ears, followed moments later by another, closer. Everyone prepared for battle, knowing more of the mystery creatures were coming. Then, suddenly, a pair of creatures identical to the one Barrett and Tseng had fought appeared around the corner of a pile of debris.

"Good." Tseng said. "This type is weak to ice. We can handle them easily."

Then two more appeared. Plus five of the type that had pursued Vincent and Tifa. And five of a third type they'd not yet seen. "Easy huh?" Barrett rumbled.

"I am open to tactical suggestions." Tseng said as the group backed away from the approaching beasts.

"Bad idea or not, I'm giving this thing a whirl!" Reno exclaimed. He slotted the red materia into his mag-rod and started casting. Vincent shouted for him to stop, but it was too late.

The room turned dark. Dark as in black, no light visible. The air went cold, so cold that Tifa was instantly on the floor, teeth chattering, clutching herself for warmth. A sullen red glow appeared in the center of the chamber, and from out of the glow emerged Hades. "I have come." The entity said. It eyed the monsters. "And, I need not ask your reason for seeking my aid." A large black cauldron materialized in front of Hades, who began to chant over it, circling his hands over the top of the cauldron. A sudden explosion of light burst forth and flowed out and around the monsters, which thrashed in agony as they were simultaneously poisoned, silenced, slowed, stopped, confused, blinded, and miniaturized.

Hades turned to Reno with a terrible smile on his face. "I expect you can handle it from here. Call upon me again any time, but remember that only this first one was free. If you seek my services again there will be… …a price…." Hades vanished, laughing wickedly.

The light and warmth returned to the chamber. Tifa stood and looked around in surprise. The monsters were still miniaturized, perhaps four inches long, and Barrett and Tseng were squashing them underfoot. Reno was curled in a ball, shaking. "Reno?" She asked, kneeling by his side.

"Geez yo… I'm never doubtin' Vincent again as long as I live! It felt like that thing was gonna suck my soul out!"

"I did warn you." Vincent said.

Tifa helped Reno to his feet. "Let's get the hell out of here." She said…

OOOOOOO

===Begin Third-Person P.O.V: Cloud===

Cloud found Yuffie exactly where he had expected to: Just outside of North Corel. She was seated on a large empty wooden crate, facing the town, and there were a large number of other crates scattered about as well, also empty. They were labeled for foodstuffs, clothing, blankets, and the like. Approaching from behind, he didn't realize that she knew he was there until she said "Time to face the music?"

"Maybe." Cloud sat next to her. "I was ready to be furious, and then I realized what you were really up to. How many of them got something?"

"Everyone. The food was close but the other stuff went further than I thought it would."

"You know this is just a bandage? It's not gonna solve the real problem."

"I know."

"Then why do it? I mean, it's really out of character for you Yuffie."

"If you think that you don't really know my character. The whole reason I chose this life in the first place was to help Wutai when it was suffering. Didn't work out. But, when I saw a chance here, well, I had to try." Yuffie was silent for a time, then said "So, you gonna turn me in?"

"For what?" Cloud asked. He grinned and added "The thief got away. At least we got the materia back though."

Yuffie hugged Cloud tightly. "Thanks!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever… C'mon, let's get back into the park before Dio cancels my points…


	20. Reunion (Not That One)

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Twenty: "Reunion (Not That One)"

OOOOOOO

Denah led us through the dense jungles, heading north-northeast, towards the location of the nearest settlement of Red's people. "It won't be long now." She said. We've perhaps another mile to go."

"Nervous?" I asked Red who was walking by my side.

"Petrified." He honestly replied. "I know nothing of the cultural rules and mores of this tribe. What if I make a fool of myself?"

"You're overthinking." Aeris said. "Just like someone else here tends to do." She grinned at me. "You'll do fine Red. Just be yourself."

"Be myself… Could that work?"

"He's nervous alright." Denah said. She stopped and turned, put a paw on Red's shoulder. "I've seen nothing in your behavior that would be a problem in our society. Take courage. You'll do fine."

"Thank you."

"Good. Now let us go…"

OOOOOOO

We reached the village a short time later. It filled a large roughly circular clearing, and was constructed of single-story brick buildings with wooden roofs. I wondered briefly how beings without hands had managed to build things like this, but decided to let it go. After all, Red had shown a surprising ability to do things that didn't seem possible, not the least of which being his mystery storage space.

As I looked around, taking in the view, I quickly noticed that every individual in the village had noticed our arrival. They were all staring straight at us. As one, they moved towards us, stopping perhaps twenty feet away. Denah stepped forward. "Nanaki, from Cosmo Canyon." She announced. "And his familiars."

"Familiars?" Aeris whispered.

"Trust me on this." Denah whispered back.

The largest villager, an ancient-looking male, stepped forward. "Welcome Nanaki. I am Trajor. Long has it been since we heard word from your tribe… Before even I was born!" Several laughed at this last comment. "Yet, we have never forgotten the names of those who departed to begin a new tribe… How do they fare?"

"I fear you behold all that remains." Red answered.

"Tragic." Trajor said. "I am sorry for your losses."

"As am I… But it has been a long time… And, I have something to return to someone here." Red bowed his head forward, revealing the hairpin we had found on the skeleton. "We found this with the remains of one of your people. I am seeking the owner's nearest kin."

Trajor looked closely at the pin. "Hmmm… Yes, it must have been Kaylark you found. Her brother is out hunting, but this will be given to him when he returns. If I may ask, where did you find the body? She vanished long ago."

"In the jungle, some ways west of here." Red answered. "We burned the bones before continuing on."

"Thank you for that." Trajor nodded. He looked around, then said "Come, we shall dine, and you can tell me of your journey…"

OOOOOOO

===Begin Third-Person P.O.V: Cid===

Cid stood on the Highwind's bridge, looking down to the ground far below. They were heading west, towards Junon, and for the fourth time he dialed Tifa's phone. "C'mon, pick up already." He thought. "You gotta be done with the stupid wreck by now…"

As Cid was about to give up, Tifa finally answered. "Cid? Hello?"

"About damned time! Where you all been!?"

"Let's just say it was nasty down there." Tifa answered. "You on the way back?"

"Yeah. We'll be at Junon in an hour. Got those materia we wanted, and lemme tell you right now Christian wasn't jokin' around. These things are insane."

"Good news then. Have you heard from Cloud or Aeris?"

"Cloud yeah." Cid confirmed. "Talked to him earlier today, he's got the manual and bratling did whatever she wanted to do to. We'll be heading straight to Corel as soon as we pick you all up. So… was it worth the trip?"

"We'll fill everyone in at once." Tifa replied. "It's a long story…"

OOOOOOO

===Resume First-Person P.O.V===

We stayed with Denah's tribe for the rest of our week in the forest. Red was enthralled to learn the culture and customs of a tribe he had never known, and in turn the locals were eager for knowledge of the outside world and our journey.

All in all, our time there was a welcome respite from the dangers and stresses of Avalanche's mission. But all good things must end, as our break did when Aeris' phone began to ring. "Hello? Cid!" She put the phone on speaker.

"You ready for pick-up?" Cid was asking. "I've got everyone else now."

"We'll be at the tower first thing tomorrow morning." I said.

"Good, good…" Just got Cloud and Yuffie an little bit ago, it'll take us about that long to get there anyway."

"Sounds great, it'll be good to have everyone together again." Aeris said. "Was everyone successful?"

"Mostly. We'll compare notes tomorrow."

OOOOOOO

Early the next morning we rose before the sun and headed back to the tower. Denah and Trajor accompanied us, though I didn't realize until we reached the clearing around the tower that a large number of others had also come, travelling hidden through the jungle to either side. Aeris hadn't noticed either. "I guess that explains why nothing attacked us." She said.

We turned to face Trajor and Denah. "Thank you for the hospitality." I said.

"It was only right. Especially given the end of the destroyer, and our reunion with the last of the Cosmo Canyon tribe. Be well all of you, and for all our sakes may fortune shine upon your quest. And as for you Nanaki, be sure to return when you are able to do so."

"I swear it." Red answered.

In the distance, I began to hear the sound of the Highwind's engines approaching. "They're coming. We'd better get up top."

"Yeah. Don't wanna upset Cid with a delay." Aeris grinned.

We climbed the angled rope to the top level. Upon arriving though, we found a surprise. "Denah?" Red asked. Surely enough, she had followed.

"Do you truly believe I would stay here, knowing the world itself is in danger?"

"You intend to come with us?"

"Of course."

"You realize this is going to be very dangerous?" I asked.

"I know. It doesn't matter. The world is at risk. Suppose I stayed here and you were to fail? Do you truly think I would savor the notion of entering the afterlife and having to say to those who went before me 'I couldn't be bothered'?"

"Well she has us there." Aeris chuckled.

"Quite."

I nodded. "Alright. But it's not just our decision."

"I understand."

I looked around and to our north saw the Highwind perhaps half a mile away, bearing directly towards us. "And here's our ride." I said. We waited as the ship descended and turned, moving the open gantry into position for us. Cid's pilots were skilled: The end of the gantry ramp aligned perfectly with the edge of the tower, not so much as an inch of empty space between the two. We climbed the ramp and stepped into the lower hanger where Red was jumped and hugged tightly by Yuffie.

"You did it!" she exclaimed. "I saw on the ground, all the others! You did it you found them!"

"Congrats pal." Barrett said. "We all happy for you."

"Thank you both." Red nodded. He motioned with his head for Denah to step forward. Looked at Cloud. "This is Denah, of the southern forest tribe. She wishes to join us."

Cloud knelt down. "You're welcome, of course. But you know…"

"That it will be hazardous. I have already explained my justifications."

"And explained them well." Aeris said.

"Well alright then. Welcome aboard." Cloud said, standing. "Conference room everyone, time to plan where we go from here…"

OOOOOOO

Author's Note: Apologies for the extra short chapter. Old Comp died, I was lucky to recover this much.


	21. Obsidian and Diamond

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Twenty-One: "Obsidian and Diamond"

OOOOOOO

Early the next morning we were all gathered together on the Highwind's bridge. The airship was holding position about a thousand feet up, not far to the west of Junon. Far ahead, just visible above the horizon, was Obsidian Weapon. The creature was hovering in place, not doing anything.

"So how are we gonna do this?" Cid asked.

"Good question." I answered. "The game presented it as just another battle, but that can't be accurate given how powerful the thing is."

"Do we still have any missiles?" Tifa asked.

"Two air-to air." Cid replied. "But I'll tell you right now, my gut says all they'd do is piss it off."

"You're probably right there." Cloud said.

"So what'da we do!?" Yuffie demanded. "I mean, we gotta fight two of these things?"

"In fairness Diamond should be easier." I mused. "After all, all we've gotta do to it is annoy the hell out of it and keep it busy 'til the mako canyon finishes it for us."

"Well hell, if it's just a question of annoyin' it Yuffie can handle that alone." Barrett said. Everyone but the princess laughed. "Really though, what are we gonna do?"

"Is there any way to shield this vessel from the weapon's attacks?" Tseng asked.

"There might be!" Shera exclaimed. "I could install Barrier Materia in the generators… Infused with all that power the materia could be used by one of us to shield the entire ship."

"How strong would the shield be, though?" Aeris asked.

"That would depend on the number of material we used, and how powerful each of them is." Shera answered.

"Hell I'm game 't try." Cid said. "Though… How long'll it take 't get it ready?"

"Less than an hour."

"Let's do it." Cloud decided. "Everyone, give Shera the material. You too, Yuffie."

Yuffie scowled but handed over two Barrier material, adding to one from Aeris, one from Vincent, and one from Rude. Shera accepted them and rushed away to start the work.

"Now, this'll help keep us safe but what about how we're gonna hurt it?" Cloud asked.

I said "I'm wondering what would happen if Aeris were to cast that Aurora spell on my sword…"

"And Cloud has Omnislash!" Yuffie shouted.

"Yeah, I am itching to try that out." Cloud admitted.

"What about the new material from those caves yo? Reno said.

"Good point." Elena agreed. "I don't see the stupid "switch your life and magic power" one being useful at all, but we do have Quadra-Magic and that Summon."

"We should think like predators." Denah suggested. "An overwhelming initial attack, before the creature knows we're coming…"

The discussion continued for some time until a plan emerged. We would approach the Weapon from behind. Cloud and I would be using Long Range Materia, while Barrett, Yuffie, Vincent, and Elena would use the ranged weapons they already had. Between Omnislash from Cloud and an Aurora-infused sword in my hands, we would try to crack the creature's armor. Then Cid would launch the missiles into the breach in the armor. An excellent plan. I should've known it wouldn't work…

OOOOOOO

The first part of the plan went smoothly. By approaching from the aft, Obsidian Weapon didn't realize we were there until we had gotten incredibly close. Shera activated the Barrier Materia in the generator, and a visible shell of shimmering green energy enveloped the hull. But as the weapon realized we were there and turned to face us, we got a surprise. As quickly as it had turned towards us, it turned again and flew away.

"Whoa. Didn't see that coming." Tifa said.

"Is it… Running from us?" Yuffie asked.

"Sure looks that way." I said. "But why…?"

"Who cares why? After it men!" Cid shouted.

The Highwind's crew went to work and soon we were following in the Weapon's trail. It was faster than us, but not by much, and once it stopped moving we caught up in a matter of minutes. Whereupon it immediately flew away again.

"It IS running from us." Cloud muttered.

"Yes. And I think I know why." Aeris said. Everyone looked to her as she continued "Red called it. Remember? When we were deciding who would stay at Mideel with Tifa."

"You think he was right then?" Vincent asked.

Aeris nodded. "Yes."

"Mind filling in those of us what weren't there yo?"

I said "The Weapons serve the planet. The Cetra serve the planet. So the weapon won't fight us because it senses Aeris' presence and isn't willing to risk harming her."

"Should we just forget about this then?" Tifa asked.

"No." Cloud said. "The weapons may mean well towards the planet itself but they're a threat to humanity. They've got to be stopped."

"Then I can't be here." Aeris said. "You'll have to land somewhere and drop me off 'til the fight is over."

Cid started to speak, but before he could Cait spoke up instead. "Whoa! Big news from Midgar lads and lasses! Diamond Weapon is on the move, coming up out of the sea bearing right for the city!"

"How long until the mako cannon is ready to fire?"

"Eight hours." Cait replied after relaying the question to Reeve and getting an answer. "But the Weapon's E.T.A. to the city is just five hours."

"Let us use this to our advantage." Red said. Aeris and half of our group should be left in Diamond Weapon's path. They can keep it busy, assuming it's even necessary to fight with Aeris there discouraging it. The rest of us, then, can deal with Obsidian Weapon, then return to enter Midgar."

"That's not a bad plan at all." I agreed.

"Then let's do it." Cloud said…

OOOOOOO

===Begin Third-Person P.O.V: Cloud===

It took less than an hour to reach Midgar and drop off Aeris, Myself, Tseng, Elena, and Cait Sith. Afterwards, the rest of our team flew off in search of Obsidian. "We need to rethink our plan don't we?" Tifa asked.

"Basic plan is still sound." Cloud answered. "Though we need someone else to use the Long Range Materia Christian was going to use… Red! You up for it?"

"Of course." Red said, accepting the material.

"What shall I do?" Denah asked.

"How good are you at casting?"

"Not as good as the elders, but I can hold my own."

"Great." Cloud said. "Take this." He gave her the Ultima material.

"Most powerful…" Denah mused. "Where did you find this?"

"Believe it or not, it was in a well."

"Heads up people!" Cid shouted. "We've got a lock. Movin' in now!" Everyone rushed to the outer deck, ready to do battle, as Shera activated the Barrier material once again.

As Highwind approached, Obsidian turned to face them. It was instantly clear that it knew Aeris was no longer aboard; It's weapons opened fire, destructive energy splashing against the barrier.

"Make this quick!" Shera shouted over the intercom. "With power like that the barrier won't last long!"

"Y'all heard the lady!" Barrett shouted. "Let's do it!" He opened fire on full-auto.

Vincent and Yuffie began their own attacks as well, while Cloud and Red used the long-range effect to inflict damage from afar, building towards their limit attacks. Lacking long-range options Tifa Reno and Rude were casting their most powerful spells, and Denah began casting Ultima.

On the bridge Cid and his crew worked hard to maneuver in ways that avoided the majority of Obsidian's attacks. Shera monitored the barrier, which was holding up better now that most of the shots were missing.

Obsidian fired a spread of eight missiles. Highwind dodged most, but two impacted the barrier, causing the entire ship to shudder and tilt to the side. Yuffie caught herself as she nearly went over the railing, then grabbed Reno who would have gone over. Vincent fell, as Tifa shouted his name. As the ship righted itself, Vincent reappeared, transformed into Chaos. The creature vented it's rage upon the weapon, grabbing ahold and tearing at Obsidian's armor.

Meanwhile Denah, who had somehow kept her footing, finished casting Ultima. The powerful spell ignited the air around Obsidian's head in a burning cloud of green energy that ate through the weapon's armor like an acid. Immediately she began casting again.

Yuffie threw another group of shurikens, then had to grab ahold of the railing once more as Obsidian casted Shadowflare which passed through the barrier and tore into an engine pod, causing the ship to tilt again and stay that way. "That does it!" She exclaimed. Magic power swirled about as the ninja activated the Leviathan summoning material.

A thick swirl or fog formed, torrential rain surged through the sky, and Leviathan appeared, hovering between the airship and the weapon. "I greet you once again Scion of Wutai." The sea serpent said. "I see no reason to ask that which you require of me. It is rather obvious." With that, Leviathan turned and joined in the attack.

Denah's second Ultima spell was even more effective than the first. Striking the same part of Obsidian's body as the first, it completely removed the remaining armor around it's head.

Tifa and Reno casted Thundaga at the same moment. Twin lightning bolts shocked Obsidian, which responded with another spread of eight missiles, followed instantly by a powerful energy blast. The missiles missed, but the blast was dead-on target. Shera's barrier took the brunt of the damage, but not all of it.

"The barrier is down!" Shera exclaimed over the intercom. "Coming back up in two minutes, everyone be careful 'til then!"

Clinging to Obsidian, Chaos ripped through the armor and started damaging the creature's interior.

Levathan swam through the air, striking when it could and dodging around Obsidian's attacks.

Obsidian seemed to be getting better at fighting, making smarter choices. It's next attack was timed so that the missiles Highwind avoided would be aimed directly at Leviathan. The summon took the hit, and with apologies to Yuffie retreated into the materia.

Cloud swung his blade again and again, the long range material converting the slashes into waves of energy that surged towards Obsidian. With each blast he felt himself growing stronger, closer to being able to launch a limit attack. Again he attacked, and felt the surge of power. It was time. "Vincent!" He shouted. "Erm, Chaos! Whatever! Get clear!" To his surprise, the creature listened and flew away.

Leaping high into the air, Cloud unleashed Omnislash for the first time. Again and again he struck, powerful blows piled one on top of another in a cataclysm of destruction. "Damn." Barrett exclaimed, watching the attack.

"Most impressive." Red concurred.

As Cloud's attack wound down, large sections of Obsidian's armor began to break off and fall away. "This is it!" Cid announced. "Everyone get secure, we're coming around and launching the missiles!" Highwind flew in an arc, first away from Obsidian, then around and back towards it. The weapon continued to fire what attacks it could in it's current condition, though between the damage it had taken and the Highwind's now greater distance all were missing the mark.

"We're in range!" The gunnery crewman announced.

Cid gave the order. "Fire!"

Two missiles launched from the airship's lower decks, and flew straight and true towards their target. The first was intercepted by an opposing missile from Obsidian, but the second found it's mark. A massive explosion echoed through the skies, it's light blinding anyone who tried to see what had happened.

As the thunderous blast died down, Cid ordered the airship crew to hold position. Directly ahead was a massive black cloud of smoke and debris. "Did we get him?" Yuffie asked.

"I think so…" Cloud answered.

There was a lull. Then Denah's ears perked up. She listened intently before saying "I wouldn't be so sure…"

Even as she spoke, the smoke rippled and Obsidian surged forth out of the darkness. It was broken, battered, in terrible shape, but still functioning. As it faced the Highwind an eerie glow began to shine from within as it prepared a massive blast of energy. Cid shouted for evasive maneuvers and all the airship's crew was panicking. For nothing, as it turned out. Obsidian tried to fire the blast, but something, perhaps the damage it had already taken, caused a backfire effect. The Weapon unwittingly destroyed itself in a detonation that thundered even louder than the missile blast had…

OOOOOOO

===Resume First-Person P.O.V.===

I stood looking up towards the Midgar plate and the massive Mako Cannon extending outwards from it. Aeris stood by my side. "Home sweet home…" She whispered. "You know, I had hoped that I might never come back here."

"Can't blame you there." I agreed. "It's not exactly the best place to grow up."

"No… And yet… There are still so many good people stuck here."

"It'll get better." I said. "Once Shinra is out of the way."

"That's good to know…" She leaned against me. "I just thought, you've never actually been into the city itself have you?"

"Nah… Never even seen it this close until now."

"So, supposing my presence doesn't slow the Weapon down? What will we do then?"

"Honestly, I'm more worried that it might try to walk the long way around us. "Because see, if that happens it wouldn't be hit by the cannon's shot at the crater."

"And then the whole of Midgar would be in danger, yes?" Tseng asked, approaching us."

"Exactly."

"Heads up!" Cait exclaimed. "It's coming!"

We turned and looked to the north. Diamond Weapon was approaching. Though it was so enormous that all we could see was it's head, just beginning to peak over the horizon miles away. "Slow mover." Elena said. "It's gonna take forever to get here."

"Let's go out and meet it half-way." Aeris suggested.

Tseng concurred. "Yes. The further out we engage, the better to react to anything unexpected it might do…"

OOOOOOO

Elena hadn't been kidding. Even moving towards the approaching Weapon ourselves rather than waiting for it to come to us, it was still over an hour before we drew close. As with Obsidian, Diamond was unwilling to risk harm to Aeris. As soon as it realized what she was, it turned to the west and tried to circle around us. Luckily, as depicted in the game this particular Weapon was unable to fly. With it's slow walking speed we were able to run in front of it's new path before it got far.

Blocked again, Diamond Weapon turned and tried to circle around the other way. We blocked it again, and then again. After a few repetitions, it realized we were stopping it on purpose and returned to it's original position. Once there, for some time it simply waited.

"Any idea why it's just standing there?" Elena eventually asked.

"Good question lass." Cait agreed. "I can't believe it's just going to give up this easily."

"Me either." Tseng and I said at the same time."

Aeris said "It's thinking, I think. Trying to figure out how to get to Midgar even with us in the way."

"I'm just glad Red was right about how these things react to you lass. I'd not like to have this giant shooting at us."

Moments after Cait had spoken, Diamond began to move, numerous weapon pods emerging from all over it's body and powering up. "You just had to say it, didn't you!?" Elena screamed.

"I'm not sure we're the target!" I shouted back to her. Diamond Weapon opened fire, enormous numbers of missiles and focused energy blasts passing high over our heads, zeroing in on Midgar.

"Apparently it realized it was in range." Tseng said.

Aeris looked towards the city. "Look!" She exclaimed.

We all turned and quickly saw what she had seen: A bright aura of energy was forming around the end of the Mako Cannon. "They're preparing to fire!" Cait said.

I looked at the cannon, the weapon, the cannon again… "Get clear of this thing! Fast!" I shouted. We ran, hoping to put as much distance between ourselves and Diamond Weapon as possible. As we ran, the cannon opened fire. A nearly blinding burst of concentrated Mako power surged towards Diamond, which continued shooting, though now all of it's own blasts were vaporized by the approaching cannon shot.

Soon, the energy from the cannon was passing directly overhead. I estimate it was nearly half a mile above our heads, but the radiant heat coming off of it was still incredible even at ground level. We all fell to the ground, hoping we were far enough away.

Another half second and the energy reached Diamond Weapon. The powerful creature unleashed a terrible cry as it crumpled, destroyed instantly. Barely effected, the energy blast continued on it's way towards the barrier around the Northern Crater.

"Damn…" Elena mumbled as she picked herself up.

"No kidding." I agreed. "Is everyone alright?"

"Aye lad." Cait said.

"I'm good." Aeris said. I took her hand, helped her to her feet. "But let's not do that again."

"What happens next?" Tseng asked as he stood.

"The barrier around the crater is down." I said. "All that's left is stopping Hojo from helping Sephiroth with another energy blast, then going after the madman himself."

"And it looks like we won't have to wait on that, either." Aeris said, pointing. Following her gaze, I saw the Highwind returning. It was battered, with an engine pod still trailing smoke, but airworthy nonetheless.

Watching as Highwind landed to collect us, I said "The rest of this will be really rough, with no chances to rest or recover… Let's get it over with…"


	22. Midgar Madness

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Twenty-Two: "Midgar Madness"

OOOOOOO

Midgar. Highwind circled over the vast metropolis, looking down on the upper plate. Flames were still tearing through the upper floors of the Shinra building, casting large quantities of thick black smoke into the sky. Everyone was gathered on the airship's outer deck, preparing for the parachute jump.

"Now listen up everyone!" Cid bellowed, "And listen really good! The crew an' I are gonna make sure you're strapped into these chutes right, so don't worry about that. What matters is, when you jump, count to ten, then pull the cord. If nothing happens, pull the back-up cord."

"Which cord is which?" Tifa asked.

"The longer one's the primary. Anyways, that's all there is to opening the chute."

"Any tips on landing?" I asked.

"Tuck and roll, yo." Reno answered.

As Cid and his crew went around making sure everyone was strapped into their parachutes properly, I noticed Tseng standing at the edge, staring at the Shinra building. "I uh, I guess that part kind of sucks for you." I said.

"Somewhat." He replied. "I am torn between feeling relieved that my bond is now free, and distressed that I did nothing to prevent this."

Joining us, tugging at the straps on her parachute, Aeris said "But what could you have done Tseng? I don't think there's anything really…"

"She's right you know."

"I suppose so." Tseng agreed.

"I know so." Aeris tugged at the straps again. "Are these things supposed to be this uncomfortable?"

"I fear so."

We were interrupted by Cloud. "Everyone ready!" He shouted. The entire team gathered around him. "We'll time our jump to land in sector eight. Once there, we'll have to make our way to the cannon control room and take out Hojo." He looked at me. "Anything important?"

"Scarlet and Heideggar will get in our way with some new war machine. It's big but shouldn't be particularly dangerous. The real threat is Hojo himself."

"The pencil-pushing geek-neck scientist!?" Reno scoffed. "How could he be dangerous yo?"

"Jenova cells. He's injected himself."

Vincent swore loudly. "This could get messy."

"Could and will." I said. Just be ready to move fast, and everyone who doesn't need to be in close stay the hell back."

"Heads up!" Cait said. "Hojo's making his move! We've got two hours before the cannon is ready to fire again!"

"Alright then. Two hours to stop him" Cloud said. "Cid, we in position?"

"Affirmative."

"Then let's do this!" Cloud answered. He jumped over the railing and fell towards the city below. Tifa followed close behind, then then rest of us one by one…

OOOOOOO

Falling. Falling and looking down at the city approaching from below. Having never did anything like this before, it was a terrifying sensation. I nearly forgot to count to ten, and by the time I remembered the first chutes were starting to open below me. "Hell with the countdown." I thought, and pulled the cord, then yelped as the sudden drag from the chute pulled at me like a heavy weight. Falling slowly now, I looked around for the others. Reno and Barrett I saw quickly, then Aeris and Cid. Cait was descending by a chute built-in to his moogle, with the moogle's arms holding tightly to him.

The descent took less than ten minutes. Once on the ground we regrouped and headed down into the plate's undercarriage. "Does anyone actually know the way?" Tifa asked.

"Follow me lass!" Cait answered. He bounded away, and we gave chase into the train tunnels.

We followed the cat through the long curving tunnel, occasionally passing turnouts connecting to other tunnels. Each time Cait went left. "I sure hope these tunnels aren't active." Cid said at one point.

"No kidding. Last thing we need is a damn train comin' right at us." Barrett agreed.

"They shouldn't be lads." Cait shouted back. "With the attack on the city all transportation infrastructure should be down." It soon became apparent that he was right. Three times we passed trains stopped in place on the tracks. One was a freight train, and another an empty passenger run, but the third had eight cars loaded with stranded passengers. They stared at us in disbelief as we ran by.

In time, the tunnels opened up into a large open area full of metal scaffolding and construction equipment. Before us, at the center of the area, stood a set of stairs leading up, up, all the way back into the lower surface of the plate. "That way." Cait said. "The control room for the cannon is at the top of those stairs."

"Then let's start climbing."

"Not so fast!" A female voice rang out. The ground shook with heavy footsteps. From behind the tower we needed to climb, Scarlet and Heideggar's creation strode into view.

"Scarlet!" Tifa exclaimed. "Let me have this one, I owe her one!"

"We've only got an hour, can't be slowed down by these losers." Barrett agreed.

Heideggar laughed, that horrid dying-animal laugh. "You talk as if you have a choice!"

"Fool! If Hojo's not stopped he'll destroy the whole city!"

"How stupid do you think we are?" Scarlet answered. She worked the controls, and the battle suit moved towards us, opening fire as it came.

We split the group. After all the time most of us had been together, it didn't even take and discussion on who would go where. Barrett, Tifa, Yuffie, Cid, and the Turks stayed to deal with Scarlet and Heideggar, Tifa muttering under her breath that she thought Scarlet was "pretty stupid, apparently." Cloud led the way to the stairs as the rest of us followed. I couldn't help but notice that the group going after Hojo included not only Cloud but also Aeris, Vincent, and Red. In other words, everyone for whom Hojo was a personal matter. I prayed that fact wouldn't come back to bite us.

As we rushed up the scaffolding towards the control room, the battle below erupted into a carnage of detonations and gunfire and shouts. Scarlet noticed what we were doing and tried to take a few shots at us. Luckily, she was far too busy with the team actually attacking her to do much. Up, up, up. The stairs seemed to go on forever, and I feared we would be too exhausted to do battle once we reached the top.

Perhaps sensing my concerns, Red said "Fear not. I still have enough Elixirs saved up for all of us. I'll distribute them when we reach the top."

"Good." I looked down. "How high up are we now anyway?"

"Somewhere in the teens I think." Cait said.

A thought occurred to me, and I couldn't resist quoting Bill Murray. "Well tell me when we reach twenty… I'm gonna throw up."

"That's gross man." Cloud answered. Saying nothing more, he resumed the climb and we all followed.

We reached the top of the stairs with less than forty minutes to spare. Directly ahead were the doors to the control room. Red passed out the promised elixirs, which were a welcome sight for all of us, and after drinking them we gathered at the door.

I could tell that Aeris was nervous. "Worried?" I asked.

"This man has been the nightmare of my life." She answered. "Even more so than Sephiroth… Yeah, I'm a little scared."

"Just stay back." I said. "We'll keep you safe."

"I know." She smiled.

"Then let's do this." Cloud said. "For everyone he's ever harmed." Everyone prepared to fight, and Cloud opened the door…

OOOOOOO

===Begin Third-Person P.O.V: Tifa===

Tifa rushed headlong towards the war machine, jumping left and right to dodge the constant barrage of shells and energy beams. Scarlet laughed. "You really thing you can get to us?" She taunted.

"Sooner or later, I'm getting ahold of you!" Tifa answered.

"Oh really? I'd say a homing missile would disagree with you on that!" Scarlet launched the missile, which zeroed in on Tifa who was forced to run from it.

Meanwhile, Barrett was shooting missiles out of the air, creating explosions which filled the air with smoke, obscuring visibility. Yuffie took advantage of the smoke to begin carefully sneaking closer and closer to the robot. Tseng led the Turks in a wide arc, intending to attack from behind. But as they drew close, the seat Heideggar was in turned around, facing him towards the back.

"Nice try Tseng!" Heideggar chortled, "But this beauty has eyes in the back of it's head! Literally!"

"I outrank you both!" Tseng shouted. "I order you to stand down!"

Heideggar laughed. "Order this!" He shouted, and fired another spread of missiles.

The Turks ran for cover, finding it behind a large pile of debris. "I think we've been canned, yo." Reno said.

"We expected it anyway." Elena answered. "Anyone have a plan?"

"Not as yet."

Cid was standing at a distance, thinking. It was really too bad the plate was overhead. He'd call in a bombing run from Highwind otherwise. High Jump attack? No, no good, too many missiles and shells in the air, too hard to see with the smoke… Then he grinned. A perfect idea…

Yuffie was almost there… Through the thick smoke she could see the robot's foot less than twenty feet away. She drew her boomerang and got ready to move. A moment later, a thicker bank of smoke rolled through and she ran for it, closing the remaining distance and attacking with everything she had in her, slashing again and again through the metal armor, tearing into the wiring and hydraulics within the leg. The sound of Scarlet cursing reached her ears, followed by a crunching sound as the machine fell to one knee.

Yuffie jumped back half a second too late: Scarlet tried to crush her under a giant metal fist. The ninja was thrown back by the shockwave of the punch, into a wall.

Tifa ran as the homing missile stayed on her tail. She was worried at first, then she had an idea. She began to smile as she changed course…

Cid made his move. He ran further away from the battle, finding a support column that led up to the plate. Once there, he started climbing in a series of short jumps, until he reached the bottom surface of the plate, then climbed hand over hand until he was directly above the robot's head. He then pulled a stick of dynamite from his belt, lit the fuse, and dropped it.

The explosive bounced off of the robot's head, rattled down the body, and lodged in the shoulder joint of an arm. Half a second more and it exploded, taking the arm with it. Cid then took advantage of the confusion to let go of the plate and drop down himself, spear pointed right at the head. He tore into it, creating a shower of sparks, and landed right next to Heideggar who screamed and jumped from his seat, clambering down the robot's body and trying to run away.

Scarlet was a bigger problem. She attacked Cid from behind, shoving him down off the robot, then returned to her seat and attacked again. Out of missiles, she resorted to an increasing number of energy beams.

Barrett was still shooting when Heideggar emerged from the smoke, running right towards him. The man tried to turn and run but Barrett grabbed him by the collar. "Not so fast fool. You're done for."

Tifa finished her route through the area and made one last turn. She was now heading straight towards the robot, homing missile still behind her. She dodged the energy beams and didn't stop until she was at the robot's feet, at which point she ducked and slid underneath between the legs. Half a moment later, as she was still running away, she heard the explosion behind her.

The robot fell to the ground with a thunderous crash. Scarlet emerged, battered and unsteady. She felt a tap on her shoulder, turned, and was knocked to the ground. "Damn straight." Tifa muttered. She looked around. "Everyone okay?"

Barrett appeared first, Then Tseng and Elena, carrying a semi-conscious Yuffie between them, followed by Cid, Reno, and Rude. "She alright?" Cid asked of Yuffie.

"Hit her head. I think she'll be fine though." Reno answered.

"Good. Now let's get up the stairs." Tifa said. "Maybe we'll be in time to help out…"

OOOOOOO

===Resume First-Person P.O.V.===

Cloud opened the door, and we stepped into the control room. Hojo was there, his back to us, working the control panel. "Soon!" He cackled. "Soon my son will be all-powerful! This world will die! Oh, what data I'll obtain from such an event!"

"The only thing you'll obtain is a beat-down!" Cloud shouted.

Hojo turned. "Well well… All my old specimens together again. It's like a little reunion all it's own."

"What point do you have in this Hojo?" Vincent asked. "How do you intend to 'collect data' when you'll be dead too?"

"Oh, I'll survive." Hojo laughed. "And you might as well, given what I did to you."

"You're not even going to survive the next hour." Cloud said. "Let's get this over with."

"Oh indeed… Let's…" Hojo unleashed a primal roar as he tore off his lab coat and began to transform. "I've injected myself you see! The power of Jenova is mine!"

The battle was joined…


	23. Holy

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Twenty-Three: "Holy"

OOOOOOO

Hojo moved with incredible speed once he had transformed. Laughing madly, he lunged straight for Cloud who swung his sword in a tight, narrow arc, slicing the insane doctor in half. The two parts of Hojo fell to the ground. "Well that was easy…" Cloud started to say, but even as he was speaking Hojo resumed laughing.

Cloud stepped back once, twice as Hojo pulled himself back together and stood. "Easy? Hardly… I am one with the power of Jenova now!"

"That doesn't make any sense!" Aeris said. "Cloud and Vincent have Jenova cells in them too, they couldn't survive something like that!"

"It's a matter of scale my dear." Hojo answered. "The cells in my body are far more numerous, and better integrated. But never fear, once you're back in your cages, I'll see what I can do about 'enhancing' you as well."

With that, Hojo resumed his assault. He tried to grab Aeris, but both Cloud and myself were in his way, chopping away at the various limbs and tentacles surging forward. Vincent was shooting as fast as he could keep his gun loaded, bullets tearing into Hojo but doing little damage. Aeris cast Thundaga, then batted away a tentacle that managed to get past both Cloud and I. "How do we stop someone who can survive being cut in half?" She shouted.

"The same way we killed the Jenova creatures Sephiroth attacked us with." Red answered. "Keep inflicting damage, his ability to repair it will diminish eventually." He cast Blizzaga, then jumped to avoid an attack.

"This is the power that defeated the Cetra?" Denah whispered.

Hojo heard her and turned. "What's this? A new specimen? Glorious!" Tendril lashed out to grab her, but Red leapt into their path, tearing with claws and teeth. Denah jumped into the fray as well, but even working together they were having a hard time keeping up with how quickly Hojo was able to regenerate.

Attacking Denah did little to distract Hojo from the rest of us. Another tentacle surged out and grabbed the gun from Vincent's hand, tossing it aside then swiftly wrapping around the gunman and pulling him in.

Aeris, however, was clearly Hojo's primary focus. No matter how many extensions of Hojo's form Cloud and I cut off, he just kept sending more of them towards her. A second tendril slipped by us and, perhaps emboldened by the success in removing Vincent's gun, grabbed her staff, wrenching it out of her grip, and tossed it aside. Before the tendril could grab Aeris I managed to chop it off. Then a funny thing happened; As Aeris was looking around, trying to see where the staff had landed, it reappeared in her hands. She nearly dropped it in shock. "What!?"

"Good question." I agreed, still working on Hojo's attacks.

"Don't question a gift right now!" Cloud said. He cut off another tentacle. "That thing's a gift from Minerva right?"

"Right!" Aeris smiled. "I wonder what else it can do…?"

Vincent let out a loud scream as he tore free of the tendril holding him and transformed into Chaos. Undaunted by the power of our foe, Chaos rushed forward and tore into the main portion of Hojo's body. Damage there finally distracted Hojo, and the attacking tentacles retracted into the main mass of his body, freeing Red and Denah and giving Cloud and I a chance to recoup.

As Red and Denah came to stand with us, Cloud shouted for Chaos to get clear. The creature didn't listen, continuing to assault Hojo until the mad doctor managed to throw him off. "Let's see how he likes this." Cloud said, and leapt forward, unleashing the full force of Omnislash. Again and again Hojo was cut clean through, torn to shreds by the powerful maneuver. At last Cloud stepped back, breathing heavily. "I guess that's that…"

"Think again!" Hojo's voice rang out, followed by laughter. The doctor's body began to reform once again.

"What does it take!?" Denah whispered in a mix of awe and fright.

Hojo finished reforming his body, then cast aside two masses of tissue which formed into a pair of smaller creatures. "Do you understand yet?" He sneered. "Jenova's power is greater than any power native to Gaia!" He motioned towards us and the sub-creatures flew forward to attack. One focused on Red and Denah, the other on Cloud.

While Red, Denah, and Cloud focused on their own opponents, Aeris and I were left with Hojo himself. Fortunately, Chaos had recovered from being thrown aside and resumed it's attack on the mad doctor, rushing in and tearing violently at his form. Tentacles wrapped around Chaos once again, but this time it was able to damage them as fast as they grew.

"Either Chaos is doing better or Hojo's starting to weaken." I said to Aeris.

"Either way, we've got to do something to help." She agreed. "What spell do you want?"

"Freeze." I answered, and held my blade ready as she cast the spell onto it.

As I moved in, I heard the sound of Aeris casting again, the White Materia generated Aurora spell. The spell activated, and a wave of blindingly brilliant white light flowed around and over Hojo, who let out a terrible shriek of pain. Surprisingly, he was actually being hurt even worse than Ultros had been, and I realized that Jenova cells must be extremely weak to Holy type damage.

I reached Hojo as the spell's effects were winding down. Chaos was still tearing into him, and I joined in, noting that Hojo's flesh was severely burned from the Aurora spell.

Red and Denah were holding their own against the creature Hojo sent after them. Working together, they led it around in differing directions, confusing and distracting the beast which couldn't seem to settle on which of them it should go after first. Cloud, meanwhile, was having to dual his opponent directly. It had formed a blade of sorts out of it's mass and was battling Cloud in a fencing match.

Behind me, I could hear Aeris shouting for everyone to hold on, and risked a brief glance backwards. She was rearranging the materia in her staff, which seemed like an odd thing to do mid-battle. Nodding in satisfaction, she began casting Aurora again, and when the spell activated I saw what she had been up to with the materia: She had placed it in a linked slot. With an 'Enemy-All.'

Shining light energy exploded into being around all three of our enemies at once. Hojo again screamed, while his creations fell to the ground, little more left of them than burning cinders. "Good work." Cloud said. "But now it's time to finish this…" He leapt into the air, towards Hojo, and unleashed Omnislash. The powerful attack tore into Hojo's weakened form, and by the time Cloud was finished, so was the doctor. Hojo crumbled into a ruin, and this time he didn't recover.

We stood in an arc around the remains, exhausted. Soon Vincent joined us, having returned to himself. "So it's over." He said.

"This part of it, anyway." Cloud said.

"How are you holding up?" I asked Aeris.

"I'm not sure…" She answered. "It's strange. This was necessary. And it was justice. And after everything he had did, I feel like I should be happy. But it all just strikes me as sad."

"It is sad." Red agreed. "With his intellect, Hojo could have improved the world instead of trying to ruin it."

"It was his own choice though." I said. "This path was his own choice, the consequences his own doing."

"Yeah…" Aeris whispered.

The sounds of a ruckus arose from behind us, and I looked to see the rest of Avalanche and the Turks arriving. "Where is he?" Tifa exclaimed.

"Gone." Vincent answered. "Hojo's over, and Shinra with him."

Tseng shook his head. "For the best, I suppose, in the end."

"It really is." Aeris said. "What will you do now?"

"Do you mean after Sephiroth and Jenova? I am uncertain… Perhaps we could assist with the rebuilding in some way, or go into business for ourselves."

"You mean like hired guns? I like that yo."

Cait suddenly said "Hang on everyone, my handler is coming to speak with you all."

"You mean Reeve?" I asked.

"I kinda thought you knew Lad. Surprised you didn't say anything."

"Well, I had no real reason to, though I did tell Aer."

Several minutes later, Reeve Tuesti arrived, breathing heavily from the exertion of the climb. Once he caught his breath, he said "I wanted to tell you in person… The shot from the Mako Cannon did work. The barrier around the Northern Crater is gone. The path to Sephiroth and Jenova is clear now."

"Thank you Reeve." Cloud said. "So, we head north now, right? Nothing else to do?"

"This is the end of my knowledge." I admitted. "Remember what Ganthet said, things wouldn't follow the default course of events from this point forward."

"Does it matter?" Barrett asked. "We woulda been goin' ahead without knowin' regardless if you hadn't been here."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Right." Cloud agreed. "So let's move!" He glanced over to Reeve. "You wanna come with?"

"Thank you, but my place is here. Lots of work to do getting Midgar functional without Shinra."

OOOOOOO

An hour later, Highwind was flying north, passing over the oceans with the shores near Icicle Lodge visible on the horizon ahead of us. Except for Cid who had gone to the bridge, we all stood on the outside deck, laying plans for the final battle with Sephiroth. "We should divide up the summoning materia." Red suggested. That will give us the most versatility in enlisting their considerable aid."

"I've already got Leviathan." Yuffie said. "Who gets the others?"

I said "As strong as Aer's magic is, I think the summons should go to someone else."

"Agreed. That will leave her open to make use of the White Materia." Cloud nodded.

To Tifa, I asked "You found the materia in the wreck?"

"Yeah, but I don't think we should use it after how it affected Reno. He said it felt like his soul was being sucked out."

"Then I'll take it Lass." Cait said. "Just a machine after all, no soul."

"Good thinking." Tifa agreed, handing the red materia over.

"What about this one?" Elena asked.

"Is that the one from Round Island?"

"Yeah."

"Who's second after Aer in terms of magic power? That's who it needs to go to, it's insanely powerful."

"Red." Everyone except for Red himself said at once, and Elena handed it over to him.

The rest of the distribution was easy. Tifa took Ifrit, Elena Ramuh, Denah Shiva, and I ended up with Alexander. Typhon we continued to keep quiet, given it's violent nature. By the time we were ready, Icicle Lodge was behind us, and the vast wall of Gaia's cliff loomed ahead.

Cid came running to join us. "Something's up!" He exclaimed. "Massive energy readings spiking up below ground, like nothing I've ever seen before!"

"In the crater?" Cloud asked.

"Everywhere!" Cid answered. "Goddamned everywhere, all flowing towards the crater, yeah, but it's everywhere!"

Aeris stiffened, shuddering, and I had to keep her from falling. "What's wrong!?"

"Gaia… Gaia, trying to speak to me, more insistently than ever before!" She answered. Clinging to my arm for balance, she pulled herself back to her feet. "Holy… Holy is moving."

"But… I thought Sephiroth was in the way." Tifa asked.

Aeris shook her head. "No, it wasn't Sephiroth in the way… It was Jenova. And Jenova is gone."

"Gone?" Vincent demanded.

"Gone."

Realization struck me. "It's what Ganthet said. Jenova's gone to some other world."

Red elaborated "With Aeris alive, the entity must have decided it wasn't worth staying to be damaged by Holy's power."

"And with her out of the way, Holy is free to do it's work." I mused. "At least, I'm guessing… I'm not really sure I'm following the sequence here."

As I was speaking, a brilliant white glow surged into view on the northern horizon beyond the cliffs. Cid ran to an intercom panel and shouted for the crew to halt forward motion, as well as for Shera to put the Barrier Materia shield back on-line.

As we watched, the power of Holy erupted out of the Northern Crater, swirling about, heading directly for Meteor at an incredible velocity. Magic met magic in a terrible cataclysm of heat, light, and concussive force spreading out in all directions. Everyone was forced to look away, and we had to keep our eyes closed even looking in the opposite direction. The Highwind shuddered violently as the blast wave reached us, but managed to stay airborne.

As the light faded, I heard first Yuffie and then Reno shouting happily. I looked for myself, and saw that Meteor was no more. The object had been almost totally vaporized, the few remains falling into Gaia's atmosphere, burning up, too small to do any real harm.

"We did it!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"Not yet." Vincent answered.

"Huh?"

"Sephiroth." Cloud said. "Jenova and Meteor are gone, but Sephiroth is still down there."

"In the crater?" Yuffie asked.

"Are you sure Cloud?" Tifa agreed. "I mean, could even he survive what we just saw?"

"Almost certainly." Cloud said.

"We've got to make sure." Vincent said. "We've got to go down there."

"Then let's get movin'" Barrett said.

Before any of us could reply, Cid's second-in-command spoke over the intercom. "Captain? I think we've got a problem!"

"What the hell is it now?"

"Radar shows incoming sir! Ballistic trajectory out of the crater, heading right for us!"

"What the hell!? Move outta it's way!"

We began moving to starboard. "No good Captain! Target changing vector to intercept! Impact in ten seconds!"

"Everybody hold on!" Cloud shouted.

Seconds later the entire ship bucked upwards. With a terrible sound of splintering metal the deck before us tore open, and Sephiroth emerged, Masamune drawn, an aura of dark power crackling around him as he hovered just above the newly made hole, glaring at us in a rage.

"What have you done with my Mother!?" He demanded…


	24. Estruans Interius Ira Vehementi

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Chapter Twenty-Four: "Estuans Interius Ira Vehementi"

OOOOOOO

The moment of truth had come. Not at the bottom of a deep dungeon, as expected, but instead on the Highwind in-flight. Everyone pulled their weapons and fell into battle-ready positions, facing Sephiroth as he floated two feet over the deck. An aura glowed and flickered around him, dark power welling up from within, from the Jenova cells stored in his body. He asked, again, "What have you done with my Mother?"

"He thinks Jenova's departure was our doing." Red realized.

"And how could that be!?" Cloud shouted at the madman. "She was down there with you, we're still up here."

"Face it you sniveling momma's boy, Mommy-dearest abandoned you!" Cid shouted.

For the briefest of moments, no more than a half-second, the look of rage on Sephiroth's face was replaced by doubt, confusion. Then his eyes narrowed again. "No. It is my destiny to rule alongside Mother, bringing death to all that lives. She would not have abandoned me. Never. Never." He looked up to the sky, where the tiny fragments of Meteor that had survived it's destruction were continuing to rain harmlessly through the atmosphere. "Meteor's loss is but a temporary setback. I will murder Gaia, and all of it's children, just as Mother wished... And I will start with the lot of you!"

Even as he was still speaking, Sephiroth lunged towards us, swinging his blade in an arc. The speed with which he moved was unreal, yet Cloud managed to put himself in the path and parry the first blow with his own sword. The two men clashed, striking, blocking, parrying, dodging, at lightning speed. Vincent and Barrett tried to join in the attack, but the speed was so great that they couldn't join in for fear of hitting Cloud instead.

Aeris ran to my side, eyes wide. "How can we help Cloud in a battle like this?" She wondered. "Both of them are fighting on a level beyond the rest of us."

"We've got to act strategically." I said. "Vincent's the only other one here who might be able to keep up with Sephiroth in a stand-up fight. The rest of us need to help out in other ways."

"Casting." Aeris said. "Maybe, between the White Materia and the powers this staff seems to have, I can make sure my spells only hit Sephiroth." She began casting, the Auroraga spell from the White Materia. As the green light of casting flowed around her, the spell struck home, slamming into Sephiroth but not Cloud. Distracted, the villain let down his guard for a brief moment, and Cloud nearly took his head off but came away with only a foot of silver hair fluttering away in the wind.

Across from Aeris and myself, Tifa was casting protective spells on Cloud; Barrier, Shell, Haste, Shield. Cid leapt high into the sky, almost disappearing from view before plummeting down directly towards Sephiroth. For a moment it looked like the attack would succeed, but the with a single smooth motion of his left arm Sephiroth knocked Cid aside, nearly sending him over the edge.

Cait attacked from behind, his moogle grabbing Sephiroth in a bear-hug, though only for a moment before being cast aside just as Cid had been. Unwilling to sit out the battle due to inability to get in a shot, Vincent transformed into Chaos and joined Cloud in the melee. Together, they managed to keep Sephiroth busy enough to slow down the speed with which the battle was moving from place to place. Barrett was able to start shooting, and Yuffie was also in the clear to attack with her boomerang.

I realized that the Turks were nowhere to be seen. For a moment I thought they had cut and run, but that didn't seem like them. I figured they must be plotting some further attack. What mattered was trying to do something more than just standing there though, so I called for Aeris to cast Aurora on my sword, then slipped in closer to the raging melee battle, looking for an opening.

As I drew closer, I heard the sound of Red and Denah casting behind me. Bright green light erupted as Ultima broiled over Sephiroth's form, then as it faded away the brilliant red of Flare followed in quick succession. Just as I swung my blade, Sephiroth pushed Cloud and Vincent back, leapt higher into the air, and began casting a rapid-fire series of Shadowflare spells. Cloud, Vincent, Tifa, and Red were all hit. Sephiroth then turned to face me. He laughed. "Do you really think you can protect her from me? You?"

"I did it before, if you'll remember." I held out Desperado. "And I didn't have this yet, back then. Recognize it?"

He did. His eyes flickered to the tip of the shortened Masamune, then to my sword. "I'll take that back over your torn remains." He came at me, faster than I could see. I somehow managed to block the first blow, but the second would have cut me down. Before I knew what was happening, Aeris was by my side. The Heart of Gaia was in her hands, blocking Masamune.

Sephiroth tried to knock the staff from Aeris' hands, but just then the Turks made their move. Rude jumped up from out of the hole in the deck Sephiroth had made and punched, HARD. The madman, caught by surprise, was knocked to his feet. Tseng and Elena moved next, striking with a pair of Thundaga spells while Reno used his mag-rod. The triple burst of electricity surged through Sephiroth's body, causing him to twitch, but he quickly regained his footing. Luckily, Cloud and Vincent were back into the battle by then.

Aeris and I retreated to the back lines again. "How did you move so fast?" I wondered.

Aeris answered "I didn't. I was just there when I needed to be. Don't know how."

"The staff." I said. "You've got to ask Minerva for the instruction manual to that thing."

"No kidding."

With Sephiroth again busy with Cloud and Vincent, I again slipped into melee range and struck out from behind. The Aurora spell embued into my sword managed to do a little damage to him, but the Jenova cells were healing even the damage Cloud was managing to inflict.

"I cannot be bested!" Sephiroth boasted. "Mother's power flows through me!"

"You're wearing down." Cloud answered. "Little by little."

"Big talk for the little boy who couldn't even get into Soldier!"

Chaos roared "Would that you have, without Jenova's cells!"

Sephiroth shouted in anger and, blocking Cloud, Casted Ultima. Cloud was thrown back a few feet, while Chaos took advantage of the opening to rake it's claws through Sephiroth's body. The wounds rapidly closed up, but thin, small scratches remained. Throwing Chaos back, Sephiroth looked down at himself. "Hmmph... Perhaps I would 'wear down' eventually after all." He glared at Cloud. "But you'll wear down faster."

Cloud smiled as the shimmer of a Curaga spell washed over him. "On my own, probably. But that's the strength I've got that you don't... My friends."

"All you had was 'Mother.'" I said. "And she's gone. It's just you now."

Sephiroth spun in a full circle, blade held out, cutting loose with a telekinetic blast. Cloud tried to rush as Sephiroth's back was turned, but he wasn't fast enough. The villain managed to complete his circuit and return to facing Cloud, blocking Cloud's attack. Meanwhile, everyone close enough be affected by the blast, myself included, were thrown backwards.

I landed between Aeris and Red. "This isn't working." I said.

"He's too powerful." Aeris agreed. "We're doing damage but not fast enough... We'd need an army to outlast him."

I grinned. "Then an army is what we'll get... Red?"

"Yes?"

"Summoning time."

Red nodded, and began to focus on the task. The red materia in his hairpin glowed brightly. All around us, everything went dark for a moment, and as the light returned I saw, hovering in the air to the side of the airship, thirteen gigantic figures. One of them spoke: "I am Arthur, son of Uthar Pendragon. Who summons the knights of Camelot?"

Red stepped forward. "I do."

I know not what you are," Arthur said, "But I sense a great nobility in you creature. For what purpose are we called?"

Red nodded towards Sephiroth, still in a brutal melee with Cloud and Chaos. "The silver haired man intends to kill our world and everyone on it. And he is powerful enough to make good on his plans. We need help to stop him, and save countless lives."

Arthur drew his sword, and the other knights followed suit. "Then our aid is yours." He said.

The knights rushed towards Sephiroth, fanning out into an arc as they went. Arthur jumped high into the air as he drew close, exclaiming "Excelsior!" as he bought his sword down towards the madman's head.

Sensing the attack coming, Sephiroth blocked it, but he was clearly taken aback by the new reinforcements all around him. "What in hell!?" He demanded. The knights were tipping the scales in our favor, but Sephiroth began to move faster again, almost to fast to see.

The melee grew ever more intense. Tifa and now Denah and Tseng were spending all of their time casting cures on Cloud and Chaos. Elena and Cait had to join in to keep up. Whenever Sephiroth was forced to slow down for a moment, we could see that the damage he was taking was healing itself more slowly. He was now covered in scars and shallow wounds, yet he still kept fighting like a man possessed which, I reflected, wasn't so far from the truth.

"More reinforcements!" I shouted. "Everyone with a red materia, use it now!"

Tifa, Elena, Denah, and I began the summoning process, and in moments Shiva, Ramuh, Ifrit, and Alexander appeared and joined in the battle. Seeing what we were doing, Yuffie also began summoning, calling upon Leviathan who swam through the air around the main battle attacking with extremely powerful water spells.

Standing beside me, Aeris inserted Quadra-Magic into a linked slot with the White Materia. "Let's see what this does." She said, and casted Aurogaga. Four waves of light-elemental magic burned into Sephiroth's body, distracting him, allowing Cloud, Chaos, and several of the knights to get in direct hits, cutting deep into his body.

Sephiroth howled in rage and pain. He threw everyone back once again with another telekinetic blast, shouting "Enough!" He rose high into the sky above us. "No more games..." He said, then raising his arms high he exclaimed "Supernova!"

In the skies above, the sun exploded. Everyone gasped in shock and fear, watching as the shockwave drew nearer. "How can he have this much power?" Denah whispered.

"We're done." Cid said. "Been nice knowing you all."

Tifa ran to Cloud, and Aeris clung tightly to my side. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Elena doing the same with Tseng. I glanced over at Red, and saw that he was also looking at me. He said "This makes no sense. If Jenova's power extends to killing stars, why bother with Meteor?"

I understood where he was going with it. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Absolutely." Red raised his voice. "Listen closely everyone! What we are seeing is not real! It is an illusion spell!"

"For all the good that does us!" Cid said. "Illusion spells still do damage if you can see them, and I expect this thing will fry us to a crisp!"

"Then we need to dispel the illusion." Tseng said.

Aeris stepped away from me. "I'm on it!" She exclaimed. Closing her eyes, releasing her staff to float in the air before her, she concentrated for several seconds, then threw her arms wide as power flowed out from both her body and the staff. "Pulse of Life!" The energy flowed into everyone, healing wounds, restoring stamina, and clearing the Supernova illusion from our minds. I caught Aeris as she stumbled. In the sky above, the undamaged sun shone as normal.

Everyone stared up at Sephiroth. He hadn't moved, still floating in place, arms spread wide. "What the hell is he doing?" Yuffie wondered.

"He's still casting the illusion." Tifa realized.

Cait said "Aye Lass. That's how illusion spells work. Once you start casting, you're stuck in place until the process runs it's course."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "He can't move at all right now?" He smiled. "Then it's time to finish this..." With a running start, Cloud jumped upwards towards Sephiroth, and at the apex of the leap he unleashed Omnislash. Again and again, slashing, cutting all the way through Sephiroth's form, limbs, body, and finally a vertical cleave all the way from top to bottom.

Cloud landed hard, and Sephiroth descended behind him, landing on the deck. He opened his eyes, and everyone tensed, but then the expression on the villain's face changed from rage, to confusion, to fear. As we watched, he disintegrated into swirling clouds of green lifestream energy and a pitch black miasma. Green and black separated. The dark miasma flowed down into the planet, but the green energy seemed to evaporate.

Cloud dropped his sword, exhausted, and everyone let out a sigh of relief. "It's over." Tifa said. "It's really over..."


	25. Until We Meet Again

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any other properties mentioned in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

"Insert Disk Two"

Epilogue: "Until We Meet Again"

Author's note: I've been asked about why the Sephiroth battle was cut so short, with only a single form. Basically, I made that choice because with Jenova gone, in her entirety, from Gaia Sephiroth should be considerably weakened (though still insanely powerful.)

OOOOOOO

The Gold Saucer. After the battle was over, Cid had insisted upon returning here to celebrate. By late evening, the pilot was drunk off his rocker, and Barrett was well on his way to getting there. Everyone else had at least a little more restraint, save for Tseng who didn't drink at all, Yuffie who tried to and wasn't allowed, and Vincent who had vanished before we even got to the park.

"Where do you suppose he went?" Aeris asked me as we stood, watching Cid make a fool of himself.

I shrugged. "Who can say? I rather expect he's gone looking for Lucrestia."

"I hope so. I'd hate to think he's gone back to that coffin. And that does seem like the most likely alternative for him."

"He's afraid of himself. Or at least of Chaos and the other monsters inside him. Even if he does find Lucrestia, he'll probably go back there eventually."

Leaning into me, Aeris sighed. "The poor man. I wish we could help somehow."

Before I could answer, we came across Cloud and Tifa, who motioned for us to join them at their table. As I sat down Cloud asked "So what happens now?"

"I honestly don't know. With Jenova gone, the events that might have happened otherwise are impossible."

"Gaia can rebuild now." Tifa said. "Without the threat hanging over us. No Jenova, no Shinra."

"There'll have to be a government of some kind though." Cloud said. "And that's what worries me."

Aeris asked "What about Reeve? He's got the know-how, and we know we can trust him."

"We'll talk to him." Cloud said.

For awhile we talked of little things, but eventually Yuffie joined us, along with Red and Denah. The ninja was gripping about the waiters. "They won't let me have anything!"

"You mean they won't let you have alcohol." Red countered.

"EXACTLY!" Yuffie screamed. "I'm old enough!"

"You're sixteen."

"And I just helped save the freakin' world! Surely that counts for something!"

"Why don't you try pulling rank?" Denah suggested. "You are a princess after all."

A mischevous look came over Yuffie's face. "Say, that's a thought..." She turned and rushed away.

"I swear I did not mean for her to take that seriously." Denah said.

Everyone laughed, as I said "And there's no way she ever would have interpreted it any other way."

To Red and Denah, Cloud asked "What about you two? What are your plans?"

"I considered accompanying Denah back to the Ancient Forest." Red answered. "But we both feel that would be premature."

"Yes. There is much to do in the outside world." Denah agreed. "And the issue of Jenova, though no longer on Gaia, still free and posing a threat somewhere in the multiverse. I would not be comfortable returning home until I know the danger has been decisively concluded."

Later, again walking through the crowd, we met Barrett. Aeris asked after his plans. "Pretty simple, really." He answered. "Gonna pick up Marlene, be a father again. That's all that matters. Though, I might settle back in Corel... With everything we picked up on this crazy ride I got the money t' maybe do some good."

Overhearing our discussion, Tseng joined us. He said "I know how you feel about me Mr. Wallace. But, I would like to come to Corel as well. Nothing I do can make up for what happened before, I know this. But what kind of man would I be if I didn't try?"

Barrett eyed Tseng warily, but finally said "Just stay out of my way once you there."

"What about the rest of your Turks?" Aeris asked.

"I expect Elena will be by my side." Tseng said.

"Damn right." Elena answered. "As for Reno and Rude, they've been talking to Reeve through that cat-thing. Something about a Restoration Initiative."

"Reeve?" I said. "We should have a word with him as well."

Approaching Cait, we saw Reno and Rude still speaking. Well, Reno speaking. Rude was his usual quiet self. "It's not a bad idea yo." Reno was saying. "Maybe a little too wimpy for me though."

"Wimpy?" Reeve's voice spoke through the moogle. "This will be a global initiative, repairing the damage of the last thirty years."

"Aye lad. Lot's of bad guys t' beat up I'm sure." Cait agreed.

"Hell yeah!" Exclaimed Cid, stumbling over with Shera in tow. "We've already agreed!"

"Maybe." Reno mused. He looked at Aeris and I. "What about you two?"

"We've not made any decisions yet." Aeris answered.

"Well you're both welcome in the W.R.O. Once I get it up and running." Reeve answered.

"Thank you Reeve." Aeris said.

"But I expect it's only a matter of time before Ganthet comes calling after me again." I added. "Or Minerva."

As if speaking Minerva's name was a portent, she herself appeared before us in a blinding flash of light. "Indeed you are correct." She said.

Aeris bowed deeply. "Lady Minerva. For what do we receive this honor?"

Minerva smiled. "Would it not be improper for me to fail to honor those who saved my world? You, all of you, are the champions of Gaia. You have the gratitude of not only myself, but also Gaia, and all of the Cetra who remain in the lifestream to guide it's power. Indeed, I have a gift for you daughter of Ifalna."

Aeris glanced down at the Heart of Gaia, retracted and clipped to her belt. "Actually, I'm still trying to figure out how to work your previous gift. It's done some unexpected things..."

"All will be revealed in time." Minerva answered. "For now, though, this new gift is temporary, but requires no learning. Someone wishes to say hello to you."

From behind, a voice I did not recognize said "Hello sweetie."

Aeris stiffened, turned slowly to see the source of the words, which proved to be a woman who looked a great deal like Aeris, though perhaps twenty years older. "...Mother...?" Aeris rushed forward and the two embraced, both in tears.

"How I've longed for this." Ifalna whispered. "I'm so proud of who you've become."

As she stepped back Aeris said "You can't stay, can you?"

Ifalna shook her head sadly. "No. But I'll be watching. And waiting when your time does come. A very, very long time from now. As she faded away, she looked to me and said "You take good care of my daughter."

"I will." I promised, but she was already gone.

Aeris turned back to Minerva, eyes still moist. "Thank you."

"Of course." Minerva paused for a moment, then continued "I have another reason for coming to you. Ganthet's council has determined the identity of the world Jenova has fled to. It is a timeline variant of Earth."

"Earth!?" I was shocked. "Strange choice for Jenova, Earth doesn't have much magic for her to steal."

"I expect it was a blind leap rather than a choice she made." Minerva answered.

"I suppose you'll be wanting us to go there now."

"Someone must. The world in question has protectors of it's own, but without help Jenova will take them by surprise."

"I'm game." I said. "Though can it wait 'til morning?"

"Of course. And... There is one other detail I need to warn you of in advance... Something I'll need you to do in order to 'fit in' with those you'll need to work with..." Minerva proceeded to explain what she had in mind. I didn't like it...

OOOOOOOO

Christian's story continues in the Final Fantasy 7 / W.I.T.C.H. Crossover "Guardians of the Multiverse" coming soon!


End file.
